ADVENTURES IN MEXICO 



AND 



THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 



By GEORGE F. RUXTON, Esq., 

ii 

MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, THE ETHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY, 

ETC. ETC. 



LONDON: 

JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 

1849. 



Fra 13 



7 *£<4Hx~£ 






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c c^?. 




( Hi ) 



II L 



PREFACE. 






Some apology, I am aware, is necessary for offering so meagre 

an account of Mexico as that which is set before the reader in 

the following pages. In justice to myself, however, I may state 

that all the notes and memoranda of the country I passed through, 

as well as several valuable and interesting documents and MSS. 

connected with the history of Northern Mexico and its Indian 

tribes, which I had collected, were unfortunately destroyed (with 

the exception of my rough note-book) in passing the Pawnee 

Fork of the river Arkansa, as I have mentioned in the body of 

this narrative ; and this loss has left me no alternative but to 

give a brief outline of my journey, which, bare as it may be, I 

prefer to lay before the reader in its present shape, rather than 

: hazard from the treacherous note-book of memory, or 

reliable source of a fertile imagination. 

is hardly necessary to explain the cause of my visiting 

at such an unsettled period ; and I fear that circum- 

will prevent my gratifying the curiosity of the reader, 

he feel an on that point. 

This little work is merely what its title professes it to be, 

" The Rough Notes of a Journey through Mexico, and a Winter 

spent amongst the wild scenes and wilder characters of the 

Rocky Mountains," and has no higher aim than to give an idea 

of the difficulties and hardships a traveller may anticipate, should 

he venture to pass through it and mix with its semi-barbarous 

and uncouth people, and to draw a faint picture of the lives of 

those hardy pioneers of civilisation whose lot is cast upon the 

boundless prairies and rugged mountains of the Far West. 

With a solitary exception I have avoided touching upon 
American subjects; not only because much abler pens than 

a2 



iv PREFACE. 



mine have done that country and people more or less justice or 
injustice, and I wish to attempt to describe nothing that other 
English travellers have written upon before, and to give a rough 
sketch of a very rough journey through comparatively new 
ground — but, more than all, for the reason that I have, on this 
and previous visits to the United States, met with such genuine 
kindness and unbounded hospitality from all classes of the Ame- 
rican people, both the richest and the poorest, that I have not 
the heart to say one harsh word of them or theirs, even if I could 
or would. 

Faults the Americans have — and who have not? But they 
are, I maintain, failings of the head and not the heart, w r hich 
nowhere beats warmer, or in a more genuine spirit of kindness 
and affection, than in the bosom of a citizen of the United 
States. 

Would that I could say as much of the sister people. From 
south to north I traversed the whole of the Republic of Mexico, 
a distance of nearly two thousand miles, and was thrown amongst 
the people of every rank, class, and station ; and I regret to 
have to say that I cannot remember to have observed one single 
commendable trait in the character of the Mexican ; always 
excepting from this sweeping clause the women of the country, 
who, for kindness of heart and many sterling qualities, are an 
ornament to their sex, and to any nation. 

If the Mexican possess one single virtue, as I hope he does, 
he must keep it so closely hidden in some secret fold of his 
sarape as to have escaped my humble sight, although I travelled 
through his country with eyes wide open, and for conviction 
ripe and ready. I trust, for his sake, that he will speedily with- 
draw from the bushel the solitary light of this concealed virtue, 
lest before long it be absorbed in the more potent flame which 
the Anglo-Saxon seems just now disposed to shed over benighted 
Mexico. 



( * ) 



CONTENTS, 



CHAPTER I. 

Under Weigh— Fellow-Passengers — Amuse- 
ments on Board— Land in Sight — Madeira 
— Appearance of Island — Funchalese 
Jockeys— Straw Hats and Canary-Birds— 
A Ride up the Mountain — Again on Board 
— Land, ho ! — Barbadoes — Betsy Austin — 
Pepper-pot — Importunate Negroes. Page 1 



CHAPTER II. 

Grenada — San Domingo — Jacmel — Jamaica 
— Kingston — Killbucra — Cuba — Isle of 
Pines — Havana — Its Harbour— Appear- 
ance of the Town — Paseo Tacon — Hava- 
neras — Eyes and Fans — The Theatre — 
Once more under Weigh — A Squall — 
Brought to— Military Despotism — A Cap- 
ture — Speak a Steamer — Santa Anna — 
Arrive at Vera Cruz 7 



CHAPTER III. 

Vera Cruz — Appearance of Town — Cada- 
verous Population — Sopilotes — Mementos 
of War — American Bombardment — Un- 
necessary Act — Preparations for Reception 
of Santa Anna — Military Display — El Onze 
— Mexican Soldier — Mexican Fonda — Fri- 
joles — Jolly Priests — Castle of San Juan 
de Ulloa — Its Garrison — Weakness — The 
Fever-Cloud — Vera Cruz Market — Fish 
and Fowl — Papagayas and Snakes ... 12 



CHAPTER IV. 

Arrival of Santa Anna — Capers of El Onze — 
Landing of the General— His Appear- 
ance — La Senora — Cool Reception — An 
Emeute — Only a Revolution — Patriotic 
Tinman — Conference with Santa Anna — 
Bearding the Lion — Manifiesto — Rumours 
ol Vomfto— Prepare to start for the Ca- 
pital—Castillo — Mexican Dandy — Leave 
Vera Cruz — The Road — Rainy Weather — 
Marching Order of Mexican Soldiers — 
British Sailors 17 



CHAPTER V. 

Puente Nacional— Wretched Country— In- 
dian Huts— Indian Contentment— Wea- 
ther Clears — Bad Roads— Rank Vegetation 
— Birds and Bugs— El Plan del Rio- 
Meson — A Male Chambermaid— Vallev of 
El Plan— Los Dos Rios— Peak of Orizaba 
— Different Scenery— Arrive at Jalapa — 
Jalapa — Delicious Climate— Scenery- — Las 
Jalapenas— Female Complexions — Cotton 
Factories — Neighbourhood — Productions 
—Coach Travelling to Mexico — Robbers 
and Robberies — Arrival of English Naval 
Officers — Preparations for Road— Examine 
Arms — The DlTigencia — Pacific Passengers 
— Mountain Scenery — Coffre of Perote — 
Perote and Castle — Road to Puebia — 
Crosses — Novedades — Arrive at Puebia— 
Robber Spy — Cosas de Mejico . . . .Page 23 

CHAPTER VI. 

Puebia — Fertility of the Country — Mexican 
Antiquities — Fat Woman — Her Consola- 
tion — Leave Puebia — Sunrise — Scenery — 
Rio Frio — Mai Punto — Escort— Dangers 
Past — Numerous- Crosses — False Alarm — 
First View of Mexico— The Vallev— The 
City — The Streets — Filth — Leperos — 
Pordioseros — Wretchedness and Vice — 
Religious Processions — A " Fix " — The 
Cathedral — Ornaments — A Murillo — 
Gold and Silver — View from the Summit 

— Sight-seeing — Museo Nacional — Azte- 
can Relics — Equestrian Statue of Carlos 
IV. of Spain— Gallery of Paintings— 
Tacubaya — Aqueduct — Chapultepec — 
Cypresses — Magnificent Foliage 32 

CHAPTER VII. 

The Paseo — Fashionable Drive — Equestrians 

— Private Houses — Hotels — Theatres — 
Streets at Night — Seeing Life in Mexico 
— A Pulqueria — Taken for a Yankee — 
Make Peace — Predilection for Gueros — 
Wounded Lepero — The Barrio de Santa 
Anna — A Fandango — A Fight — Sauve- 
qui-peut — Society in Mexico — Prepara- 
tions for the Reception of Santa Anna — 
Cosas de Mejico — Yankee Horsedealer — 
Hiring Servant — Preparations to start for 

the North 39 

aZ 



VI 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Leave Mexico — Our Cavallada — Mules in 
Confusion—Country Inundated — Arrieros 
in Distress — Donkeys " mired down " — 
Guatitlan — First Halt — Meson — Tapage 
— A Breakfast — Hacienda de Canafias — 
Luxurious Bath — Indian Visitors — Mise- 
ries of Meson — Vermin — Arrieros' Bivouac 
— Novedades — Deficiency of Wood — Rio 
Sarco — A Meson described — Mesas Puestas 
— Breakfasts — Hacienda de la Soledad — 
Band of Robbers — Decline Attack — San 
Juan del Rio — Its Gardens and Fruits — 
Difficulty of estimating Population — 
Day's Travelling — Volcanic Region of 
Jorullo , Page 49 

CHAPTER IX. 

Queretaro — Gardens— Factories — Tobacco — 
Monopoly of Cigars — Pulque — Colinche — 
Tunas — Pulque - making — Its Consump- 
tion and Flavour— Streets of Queretaro — 
Public Bathing — Ladies in the Gutters — 
Sin Vergfienza — Miserable Accommoda- 
tion — Tortilleras — Novel Currency — Soap 
for Silver— Queretaro to Celaya — Lime- 
stone — Descent from the Table-land — 
Climate changes — The Organo — Cactus 
Hedges — Bad Roads— El Paseo — Mague- 
yes and Nopalos — Prickly Pears — Celaya 
—The Bridge — Church and Collecturia— 
Trade and Population of Town — Produc- 
tions — Abundance of Hares — La Xuage — 
Indian Church Ceremonies — Curiosity of 
Natives— Seeing the " Giiero " — Temas- 
cateo— Mine Host — His Ideas of England 
— Chapel of San Miguel — Robbers — 
Mules disabled 57 



CHAPTER X. 

To Silao — Treatment of Mules — Purchase a 
Pair — Their Characters — Silao Slopsellers— 
Fruit- women — Fruit — Leperos — Washer- 
women—Sin Vergiienzas — Silao— Its Po- 
pulation — Productions — Jalisco — Its Fer- 
tility and Advantages — The Plains of Silao 
— Communication with the Pacific — Silao 
to La Villa de Leon — Arrieros — Leon — 
Vicious Population — A " Scrape " — A Cu- 
chillada — Clear out — Volcanic Sierra — 
Tabular Mountains — Roadside Breakfast — 
Lagos — Dia de Fiesta — The Road Travel- 
lers — Street Bathing — Pedlers — Gambling 
Booths — Singing Women — Popular Song 
— The Soldier's Courtship — Lagos to La 
Villa de la Encarnacion — Broken Bridge 
— Adobe Houses— Lagos — Resembles Tim- 
buctoo— Church Organ — Polka — Leperos 
— Mutilated Object— A pleasant Bedfel- 
low 65 



CHAPTER XI. 

To Aguas Calientes — Meet a Pic-nic 
Party— Gallantry of the Caballeros— They 



beat a Retreat— Aguas Calientes — Pa- 
triotic Column — Hacienda of La Punta — 
Plains of La Punta — Picos Largos — Horse 
died from Fatigue — To Zacatecas — Aban- 
doned Copper-mines — Indian Treasure- 
hunter — Zacatecas — Mines — Deposits of 
Soda — Novedades — L03 Indios — Zacatecas 
to Fresnillo — Audacity of Robbers— Fres- 
nillo — Its Mines — Government Greedi- 
ness — Hacienda de Beneficios — Employes 
of the Mines, &c. — A Mexican Trader — 
Fresnillo to Zaina — Indian District — 
Fortified Haciendas— A " Spill "—Zaina 
— Sombrerete— Wild Country— The Mai 
Pais, or Volcanic Region — Wild Scenery 
— Bad Roads — The Hacienda of San Ni- 
colas — Enormous Estates — Frighten the 
Ladies — Volcanic Formations — Molten 
Lava — La Punta — Indian Road — Massacre 
of the Rancheros — The Ranchera's Story 
— The National Game of Colea de Toros 
—Bull-Tailing— The Game of the Cock- 
Poverty of the Rancho— Road to Durango 
— Inundated Plains — Gruyas and Wild 
Geese — Arrive at Durango — Mountain of 
Malleable Iron, &c Page 74 

CHAPTER XII. 

A Hint to Travellers — Mode of Travelling 
in Mexico — Roughing it — Dangers of Tra- 
velling — Servants — Their Pay — Their 
Roguery — A Mexican Servant's Account 
—Ditto " taxed " and " cut down"— Re- 
spect to Englishmen — Passports and let- 
ters of Security — Compadres and Com- 
madres 88 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Comanche Attacks — A Tale of the Indian 
Frontier— EI Coxo and his Sons— Esca- 
milla — Juan Maria — Ysabel de la Cadena 
— A Jilt— Treachery of Escamilla — Affi- 
anced to Ysabel — Arrive at Hacienda for 
Marriage— Sudden Indian Attack — Cow- 
ardice of Escamilla — Death of Ysabel and 
Juan Maria — Indian Skirmish — Crosses 
and Piles of Stones 94 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Durango — State of the Province — Its Savage 
Enemies — The Apaches — Comanches — 
Their Annual Invasion — Pusillanimitv of 
Mexicans — Ruinous Depredations — Dan- 
ger of Travelling — A Mozo Volunteer — 
A. Glance at the State of Mexico— Causes 
of its Miserable Condition — Its Physical 
Disadvantages — The Character of the 
People — Unfitness for Republican Form 
of Government— Causes of Revolutions — 
Serfdom— Absence of Law and Freedom 

100 

CHAPTER XV. 

Leave Durango — Salitrose Springs — Rancho 
of Los Sauces — A Pleasant Companion — 



CONTENTS. 



"Vll 



Punishment for a Bad Shot— Sail ahead- 
Meet a Caravan — General Armijo — Ante- 
lope — a Law Case— Farmhouses — En- 
camp outside— Indian Alarm— Another 
Caravan— El Gallo— Indian " Sign "—A 
Scalp lost— Life in a Rancho— Traders 

Page 108 

CHAPTER XVI. 

To Mapimi— Palmas— Desert Country — A 
Rattlesnake — Camp on Plain — Without 
Water — Lose Animals — Hunt — Disagree- 
able Surprise — Indians — Narrow Escape 
— Night March to El Gallo — Excessive 
Thirst— Profound Darkness— Reach Cattle 
Wells— Animals safe— La Cadena— Angel 
becomes valiant — Long Ride — Reach Ma- 
pimi — Bolson de Mapimi — Hire a Servant 
— Advised not to proceed — Street Camp — 
Levee of Leperos — Pelados — Panchito's 
Tail eaten 117 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Leave Mapimi — The Travesia — Deserted 
Village — Arrovo de los Indios — Fresh 
" Sign"— Salitrose Spring— Strike Settle- 
ments — Lost Americans — Their Suffer- 
ings — The Camblet Cloak — Don Augustin 
Garcia — Expedition to Sierra del Diablo 

— Indian Sign — Dangerous Camp — Re- 
turn to Guajoquilla — Novedades — A Fix 
— Kit stolen — Thieves taken — The Sca- 
venger's Daughter — Holy Child of Atocha 

— Convincing Proof — Cocinera's Pen- 
ance 127 



CHAPTER XVIH. 

Leave Guajoquilla — Bivouac of Mexican 
Soldiers — Mexican Surprise — Kill an An- 
telope—Santa Rosalia — Taken for a Spy 
— Las Animas — Los Saucillos — Indian 
Miner— Legend of the " Black Vein of 
Sombrerete "—Hospitality (?) — The Ala- 
zan — Fugitives from Chihuahua — Ber- 
nardo the Bullfighter — In Sight of Chi- 
huahua 140 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Chihuahua — Trade — Indian Attacks — Mas- 
sacTe of Indians — Horrid Barbarity — Game 
— Insects — The Zacatero — Shrubs — Mez- 
qnit — Want of Trees — Invasion of Ame- 
ricans — The Caravana — Mexican Escort — 
Sacramento 151 

CHAPTER XX. 

Leave Chihuahua — Coursing a Coyote— El 
Sauz — Lone Tree — Los Sauzillos— Death 
of the Alazan — Encinillas — El Carmen — 
Carrizal — Preparing a Feast — Many a 
Slip, &c. — Fountain of the Star — tfew 
Mexicans — Sand Mountain — Arrive at 
El Paso 160 



CHAPTER XXI. 

First Settlement of El Paso— Fertility of 
Valley — American Prisoners — Treachery 
of a Guide — Leave El Paso— Ragged Escort 
— Camp on Rio Grande — Valley of the 
Rio Grande— Indian Sign — Dead Man's 
Journey — Animals suffer from Thirst- 
System of Plains — Traders' Camp — 
Hunting — Scarcity of Provisions — Mis- 
sourians' Camp — Americans as Soldiers — 
Officers— Game — Indian Depredations — A 
Painter — Turkey- hunting — On my own 
Hook — Mules and Mule-packing Page 1 67 

CHAPTER XXII. 
Leave Valverde— San Antonio — Socorro — 
New Mexicans — Beggars — Houses — Limi- 
tar — Bosque Redondo — Albuquerque — Bri- 
tish Deserter — Bernalillo — A Stampede — ■ 
San Felipe — Galisteo — Yankee Teamster 
—In Sight of Santa Fe— Arrival. . ... 1 83 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Santa Fe— Population of— Town — Pueblo 
Indians — Aridity of Soil — New Mexican 
Settlements — Gold Mines — New Mexicans 
— Ancient Mexicans — Traditions of In- 
dians — Quetzalcoatl — Migration of Aztecs 
— Indian Tribes in New Mexico — The 
Moquis — Ruins of Cities— Welsh Indians 
— Dress of Pueblos — Revolutions — Leave 
Santa Fe — Wolf— Indian Welcome — La 
Canada — El Embudo — Cross the Mountain 
— Scenery — Ice — Arrive at Taos 189 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Valley of Taos — Fernandez — Governor Bent 
— Start to the Mountains — Half-breed 
Guide — Mules and Ice — Benighted — Shel- 
ter — H ospitality — A rroy o Hondo — Tur- 
ley's — Mormons — Cross Mountain — Feet 
Frozen — Rio Colorado — Mexican Valientes 
— Canadian Trapper — Valley of Red River 
— State of the Settlement — Adios, Mejico I 

200 

CHAPTER XXV. 
Leave Red River — Antelope — A Shot — 
Wolves — Camp on Rib Creek — Snake 
Creek— Yuta Trail— Bowl Creek— Sociable 
Wolf — Day's Journey — El Vallecito — The 
Wind Trap — Comfortless Camp — Cross 
Wind Trap — View from Summit — Dismal 
Scene — Sufferings from Cold — Orphan 
Creek — Isolated Butte — The Greenhorn — 
Trappers r Lodges — Mountaineers — The 
San Carlos— Strike the Arkansa 21 1 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

The Arkansa— The Pueblo Fort— Its Inha- 
bitants — Hunting — Fontaine-qui-bouille 
— Arapahos — Cunning and Voracity of 
Wolves — Animals lost — A Snow-storm — 
Night in the Snow — Morning at last — 
Return to Arkansa— News from New 
Mexico — Fate of Two Mountain-men — 
A daring Hunter — Turlev's Defence— His 
Fate ." 223 



Vlll 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

Beaver — Its Habits — Trappers — Dangers of 
Trapping — The Rendezvous — Gambling 
— War Party of Arapahos — Dangerous 
Neighbours — Mocassins — My Animals — 
Pasture — Breaking of Ice on the Arkansa 
— Fish — Boiling Spring River — Indians 
about — The Boiling Fountain — Soda-water 
—Delicious Draught Page 239 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

The "Medicine" Spring — Superstition of 
Arapahos— Offerings to the Water God — 
Legend of the Boiling Fountain — A 
Hunter's Paradise — Daybreak in the Moun- 
tains — Hunting — Bears — Disagreeable 
Surprise — Mountain on Fire — Touch and 
Go — Run before it — Fire and Water — 
Camp on Fontaine-qui-bouille— Fire fol- 
lows — Green Grass — Audacity of Wolves 
«► 253 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

Buffalo — Their Disappearance from former 
Range — Their Meat — Canadians Feasting 
— Buffalo-hunting — Tenacitv of Life in 
Buffalo— Death of a Bull— Thickness of 
Scalp-hair— Destruction of Buffalo . . . .266 

CHAPTER XXX. 

Grizzly Bears — Their Ferocity — John Glass's 
Scrape — The Dead Alive — Rube Herring 
and the Lost Trap — Trapping a B'ar — 
Bear and Squaws — The Bighorn — Killing 
a Sheep— Pets— Elk— Antelope— The Car- 
cagieu — Mountain Wolves — Solitary Hunt- 
er — Mountain Camp 270 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

Return to Arkansa — Ladies of the Fort — 
Delawares — Big Nigger — Mexican Captive 
— Captive Negro — Preparations for a Start 
— Salubrity of Mountain Climate— Effects 
on Consumptive Patients — " Possibles *' 
overhauled — Kit repaired — Hunting up 
the Anynals— Their Wildness 283 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

Leave the Arkansa — Forks of the River — 
Hydropathy — Stampede — Bent's Fort — 
Fremont's Men — Californian Indian — 
Expertness of with Lasso — Big Timber 
— Salt Bottom — Indian Sign — Cheyenne 
Village — Language of Signs — Return of 
Indians from Buffalo-hunt — Thieving Pro- 
pensities — Tree on Fire — Bois de V aches 
— Death of a Teamster — Black Leg — 
Coursing a Wounded Wolf — Buffalo in 
Sight— Another Death— Bands of Buffalo 
— In the Thick of 'em — A Veteran Bull — 
Prairie Dogs — Their Towns— The Caches 
— Countless Herds of Buffalo — Coon 
Creeks — Buffalo Stampede — Running Buf- 
falo — A Gorged Bull — Wolves and Calves 

Page 289 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

Pawnee Fork — Stormy Weather — A Con- 
tented Traveller — A Wet Night— Crossing 
the Creek — Packs Damaged — Cow Creek 
— Myriads of Buffalo — Running a Cow — 
Scenery of the Grand Prairies— Council 
Grove — Appearances of Civilization — Fat 
Cattle— A Storm at Night— Bugs, Beetles, 
and Rattlesnakes — The " Caw " Country 

304 

CHAPTER XXXP7. 

Kansas or Caw River — Fort Leavenworth — 
The Barracks — Create a Sensation — Adieu 
to my Animals — The Parting — Down the 
Missouri — Yankee Manners — Improve- 
ment in — A Scrimmage — Slaves and Slav- 
ery — Miseries of Civilised Lite . . . . , 312 



CHAPTER XXXV. 
Saint Louis— The Mexican War 321 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 

The Illinois River— Chicago— \ Stage-Coach 
— Dovetailing— A Yankee Orator — Anglo- 
phobia — New York — The End 3^7 



ADVENTURES IN MEXICO 



AND 



THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 



CHAPTER I. 



Under Weigh — Fellow-Passengers — Amusements on Board — Land in sight 
— Madeira — Appearance of Island — Funchalese Jockeys — Straw Hats and 
Canary -Birds — A Ride up the Mountain — Again on Board — Land, ho ! — 
Barbadoes — Betsy Austin — Pepper-pot — Importunate Negroes. 

On the 2nd of July, at 1 p. m., the royal mail-packet steamed 
out of Southampton Water. For three hours we had been in the 
usual state of confusion attending the sailing of a packet on a 
long voyage. Being the first on board, and having no friends 
with long faces and handkerchiefs to their eyes to distract my 
attention, I had leisure to look about me, and survey the different 
passengers as they came on board, in every stage of delight and 
despair. Some there were who possibly had set their feet for the 
last time on their native shore, and had in perspective a tropical 
futurity, with sugar-hogsheads, cocoa-nuts, and vomito in the 
distance. Others again were homeward bound, delighted to turn 
their backs on the suicidal mists of the isle of vapours, and revel- 
ling in anticipated enjoyment of the fiery paradise beyond the sea. 
Red and swollen eyes, however, were in a decided majority ; and 
as the steam hissed and snorted, so did faces become more elon- 
gated, and the corners of mouths take a downward angle. 

At length the ominous bell gave notice that the moment of 
parting had arrived. Fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, 

B 



2 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. i. 

and lovers with quivering lip, for the last time embraced ; the 
tender cast off her hawser, and the huge steamer was speeding 
on her way. And now solitary figures with swollen eyes leaned 
over the taffrail, gazing intently towards the land, and at the 
little speck dancing on the waves, which was bearing so quickly 
away loved objects, seen by many of them for the last time. 

Our passengers comprised a motley group : Creoles of the 
West India islands and the main, Spaniards of Havana, French 
of Martinique and Gaudaloupe, Danes of St. Thomas, Dutch of 
Curacoa, Portuguese of Madeira, Jamaica Jews, merchants of 
Costa Rica, military officers, and emigrating Yorkshire farmers, 
were amongst the various items of the human freight. 

However, forty-eight hours' shaking together amalgamated w the 
mass ; and when that number of hours and a southerly course had 
carried us into a smooth sea and heavenly climate, all sorrows 
were for the time forgotten. A Jamaica Jew had taken up a 
position on the cabin skylight, where, with a pack of cards and a 
pile of gold before him, he every day, and all day long, officiated 
as dueno of a monte-table ; a little Rabbi, throwing aside his 
sacerdotal cares, and shining in glossy black, superintending the 
receipts and disbursements of the bank. The provideur, who by 
the way was the life of the ship, was already chalking on the 
deck a marine billiard-table ; and under his direction and tuition, 
English and French, Spaniards and Dutch, were soon engaged in 
momentous matches, on which depended many a bottle of iced 
champagne. 

These amusements, combined with a vast deal of eating, 
drinking, and smoking, fortunately preserved us in good humour 
for six days ; when, just as shovel-board had lost its charms, 
champagne its flavour, and the monte Israelite his customers, the 
welcome cry of " Land, ho!" at midnight on the 12th, turned 
out all hands on deck ; and there, looming in the hazy distance 
on our starboard bow, lay Puerto Santo, part and parcel of 
" soft " Madeira. 

When I rose the next morning we were standing into Funchal 
Roads, and shortly after came to anchor within three-quarters 
of a mile of the shore and opposite the town of Funchal. At 
this distance the island, rising to a great elevation from the 
water's edge, with the town, washed by the Atlantic, at its base, 



chap. i.J MADEIRA. 



and innumerable white houses, with here and there a convent's 
spires, dotted up the sides, resembles a scene of a gigantic pano- 
rama, with every object so clearly displayed to the eye, and fore 
and back ground of deep-blue sky and azure sea. 

On landing in one of the country boats, as soon as the keel 
had touched the beach, a cavalcade of horsemen, mounted on 
handsome active ponies, charged to the very water's edge, and, 
nearly trampling us in their furious onslaught, reined up sud- 
denly, bringing their steeds on their haunches. Our first thought 
was instant flight ; but, finding their object was pacific, we learned 
that this Arab-like proceeding was for the purpose of displaying 
the merits of their cattle, and to tempt us to engage in an eques- 
trian expedition up the mountain. Selecting three promising- 
looking animals, and preceded by their funnel-capped proprietors 
as guides, we proceeded to the town. 

Funchal in no degree differs from any sea or river side town in 
Portugal. The Funchalese are Portuguese in form and feature ; 
the women, if possible, more ordinary, and the beggars more 
importunate and persevering. The beach is covered with plank 
sleds, to which are yoked most comical little oxen no larger than 
donkeys. In these sleds the hogsheads of wine are conveyed to 
the boats, as they are better adapted to the rough shingle than 
wheeled conveyances. To a stranger the trade of the town 
appears to be monopolised by vendors of straw hats and canary- 
birds. These articles of merchandise are thrust into one's face 
at every step. Sombreros are pounded upon your head ; showers 
of canaries and goldfinches, with strings attached to their legs, 
are fired like rockets into your face ; and the stunning roar of the 
salesmen deafen the ear. 

Ascending the precipitous ruas, we soon reached the suburbs, 
our guides holding on by tlie tails of the horses to facilitate their 
ascent. Still mounting, we pass where vines are trellised over 
the road ; sweet-smelling geraniums, heliotrope, and fuschias 
overhang the garden-walls on each side ; whilst, in the beautiful 
little gardens which everywhere meet the eye, the graceful banana, 
the orange-tree and waving maize, the tropical aloe and homely 
oak, form the most pleasing contrasts and enchant the sight. 
Winding still up the mountain-side, the interminable stone-paved 
suburb is passed ; but even whilst toiling over the uneven slippery 

b2 



ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. i. 



pavement, and sitting in an almost vertical saddle, hanging on to 
the mane like grim death, it is impossible even to whisper an impre- 
cation, everything around is so soft and pleasing; and, malgrelui, 
one (even if he be an Englishman) has not the heart to growl or 
complain. 

Here the vivid colourings of a tropical scene blend in harmony 
with the sober tints of a more temperate landscape. By the 
orange and leaf-spreading banana grow the oak and apple ; the 
cactus and the daisy bloom together ; the luscious pine and humble 
potato yield their fruit ; and, side by side with the golden-coloured 
canary, the robin redbreast warbles his sweet and well-known song. 

The sides of the mountain are clothed with vines, and numerous 
streamlets trickle along the roadside, cooling the air with their 
refreshing murmurs ; whilst a mountain torrent here and there 
forces its impetuous way. The paths which wind along the 
mountain overhang precipices lined with foliage, and water every- 
where glitters through the verdure and relieves the eye. In the 
valleys are seen delicious nooks, green and cool, shadowed by 
the lofty rocks, with picturesque cottages and smiling gardens, 
and scenes of such quiet beauty as one never tires to gaze upon. 
Turning in your saddle, you see the town of Funchal at your feet, 
reflected in the smooth and glittering sea. The vessels in the 
roads appear no larger than fishing-boats ; and the huge steamer, 
lying lazily at her anchor, will be the victim of a malediction, 
that it is so soon to bear you away from this sweet island. 

The sun too is not the fireball of the tropics, or even the 
heat -engendering luminary we have left behind us, but shines 
faintly bright through a dim soft mist ; and while sweet-smelling 
flowers dispense their odours around, and the notes of song-birds 
are heard on every side, the air breathes soft and soothingly. 

With no little regret I turned my horse's head down the 
mountain-side, after several hours' ramble in this elysian spot ; 
and not even a glass of the Messrs. Gordon's Tinta or Malvozia, 
of a choice vintage, could reconcile me to the idea of again 
entering the snorting prison-house which puffed impatiently in 
the roads. 

On leaving Madeira we had thirteen days of most monotonous 
steaming, during which a most universal ennui prevailed on 
board, relieved occasionally by the outbreakings of some woer 



chap, i.] ENNUI ON BOARD— BARBADOES. 5 

of the fickle goddess, whose winnings or losings had been more 
than usually great, and consequently occasioned a greater or less 
amount of self-gratulation or excitement. When every mortal 
means of amusement was supposed to have been exhausted, it 
was providentially discovered that the Rabbi was in the habit 
of slaying with his own hand, and according to the strict letter 
of the Mosaic law, the ducks, fowls, and sheep which he desired 
to devour. 

The day after the discovery the butcher was seen to approach 
the Eabbi with some mysterious communication, who im- 
mediately tucked up his sleeves, took a knife which was handed 
to him by the butcher, and accompanied that functionary to the 
hen-coops. 

In an instant the quarter-deck was deserted ; every passenger 
stealthily took up a position where he could witness the mysterious 
catastrophe. The Rabbi, with upturned wristbands, carefully 
kneaded the breasts of several fowls which were offered to his 
knife by the butcher, and at length, selecting one whose condition 
was undeniable, casting up his eyes and invoking Moses to give 
him the requisite nerve, he administered the mystic stab, and in- 
stantly retreated. As a reward for the excitement he had 
caused, I noticed that at dinner that day the Rabbi received 
most friendly offers of ham and roast pork. 

On the thirteenth morning after leaving Madeira the low 
regular outline of Barbadoes was visible on the horizon. This 
island exhibits less tropical scenery than any other in the West 
Indies, being less mountainous, and the plains and hills culti- 
vated in every part, and consequently the bush is cleared off to 
make way for agricultural improvements. It is not, however, 
the less beautiful on this account ; and everywhere the snug- 
looking houses of the planters, with mills and sugar-houses, 
and all the appliances of thriving plantations, were seen as we 
hugged the shore. 

On landing I found myself, very fortunately and unexpectedly, 
amongst many old friends, whose hospitality I enjoyed during 
my stay at the island. 

Amongst the celebrated of Barbadoes whom I deemed it my 
duty to visit, was the renowned Betsy Austin, once (in the days 
when the late King William was a jolly mid) the pride of the 



6 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. i. 

'Badian dignity balls, but now in " the sear and yellow leaf," fat 
as a turtle, and always very drunk. I found the ancient beauty 
sitting in the verandah of her house, surrounded by a dozen sable 
and yellow handmaidens, some of them very pretty girls, who 
were engaged in pickling and preserving West India fruits. 
She insisted on my joining her in a sangaree, which was pre- 
pared in a tumbler holding about half a gallon ; and, shaking 
my hand at parting, being crying drunk, slobbered out a " Gar 
bless you sar ! hab notin to do wid Car'line Lee ;" which Caro- 
line Lee is own sister to Betsy, but guilty of keeping an opposi- 
tion house, and hence the warning. 

I found nothing striking in Barbadoes but the sun, which is a 
perpetual furnace, and the pepper-pot — a dish to the mysteries 
of which I was initiated here for the first time. It is a delicious 
compound of flesh, fish, and fowl, pique with all the hot peppers 
and condiments the island produces, and mystified in a rich 
black sauce. The flavour of this wonderful dish is impossible to 
be described. Imagine a mass of cockroaches stewed in pitch, 
and a faint idea may be had of the appearance and smell of the 
savoury compound. 

Of Bridgetown, the capital, the less said the better. It is 
infested with a most rascally and impudent race of negroes, who 
almost resort to violence to wrench unwilling pistareens from 
the stranger's pocket. Just before my arrival half the town had 
most providentially been destroyed by fire, so that, if rebuilt, 
hopes are entertained of a more respectable-looking place being 
erected. 



chap, ii.] GRENADA -JAMAICA. 



CHAPTER II. 

Grenada — San Domingo — Jacmel — Jamaica — Kingston — Killbucra — 
Cuba — Isle of Pines — Havana— Its Harbour — Appearance of the Town 
— Paseo Tacon — Havaneras — Eyes and Fans — The Theatre — Once more 
under Weigh — A Squall — Brought to — Military Despotism — A Capture 
— Speak a Steamer — Santa Anna — Arrive at Vera Cruz. 

The next island touched at was Grenada, one of the most pic- 
turesque of the Antilles. The little harbour is completely land- 
locked, and, as it were, scooped out of the side of the mountain, 
which rises from the water's edge. An old green fort, perched 
upon a crag, commands the anchorage, and the little town, inter- 
spersed with palm-trees and aloes, appears to be crawling up the 
mountain. Here we remained but a few hours, and steered 
thence to San Domingo, one of the largest of the group. Coast- 
ing along, it presented a bold imposing outline of rugged 
mountains covered with forests, and but little appearance of cul- 
tivation. Staying but a few hours at Jacmel, to receive and 
deliver mails, we soon came in sight of Jamaica, with its fine 
bold scenery of mountain and valley ; and threading the intricate 
and dangerous reefs, and passing the forts and batteries of Port 
Royal, we anchored about noon off Kingston, the chief town of 
the island. 

Here we left the greater part of our fellow-passengers, in- 
cluding the card-playing Jew and the Rabbi. The former left 
the steamer minus several hundred pounds by his monte specu- 
lation, the greater part of which had been won by two boys 
from Birmingham, who were on their way to Havana to set up 
a cooperage. Elated with their (to them) enormous gains, they, 
in honour of the occasion, sacrificed too freely to the rosy god, 
the consequence of which was that in a few weeks both were 
carried off by the relentless vomito. 

A couple of days spent amongst the killbucra* and sopilotes* 

* A yellow flower, which is said to be more abundant during sickly 
seasons. The sopilote is the turkey -buzzard. 



8 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, if, 

of Uppark rendered my regret at leaving Jamaica anything but 
poignant ; and taking leave of the dusty dirty town of Kingston, 
with its ruinous houses and miserable population, in a few days 
we were coasting along the south side of Cuba, passing Cape 
Antonio and the Isle of Pines, once famous, or rather infamous, 
as the resort of pirates, who infested these seas until within a few 
years, and still the rendezvous of equally nefarious slavers. La 
Havana — the Haven — is one of the finest harbours in the world, 
and capable of holding a thousand vessels. It is completely 
land-locked, and the entrance so narrow that vessels must pass 
within musket-shot of the u Morro," whose frowning batteries 
look down on the very decks. Besides the Morro, the formi- 
dable batteries of the Principe and La Cabana show their teeth 
on each side, and numerous detached works crown every emi- 
nence. 

The Spaniards may well be jealous of Cuba, which, with their 
usual fanfaron (just, however, in this case), they style " La 
joya mas brillante en la corona de Espana," the most brilliant 
jewel in the crown of Spain. This, the last of their once mag- 
nificent dependencies, they may well guard with watchful eye ; 
for not only do the colonists most cordially detest the mother 
country, and only wait an opportunity to throw off the yoke, 
but already an unscrupulous and powerful neighbour " of the 
north" casts a longing eye towards this rich and beautiful 
island. 

The cruel dissensions and bloody revolutions which have so 
long convulsed unfortunate Spain have seldom extended their 
influences to this remote colony. Cuba, content in her riches 
and prosperity, has looked calmly on, indifferent to the throes 
which have agonized the maternal frame. Her boastful so- 
briquet, " Siempre nel isla de Cuba" — the ever-faithful island of 
Cuba — has thus been cheaply earned, and passively retained by 
the ironical Havaneros, who will assuredly one day pluck out 
from the Spanish crown this " fine jewel," or suffer it to be 
transferred to a foreign bonnet. 

The harbour has been so often described that it is needless to 
dilate upon its beauties. In one corner is a rank mangrove 
swamp which exhales a fatal miasma, and which, wafted by the 
land-breeze over the town and shipping, is one great cause of the 



chap, ii.] HAVANERAS— EYES AND FANS, 9 

deplorable mortality which occurs here in the sickly season. 
Havana is quite a Spanish town, and reminded me of Cadiz 
more than any other. It is, however, cleaner and better regu- 
lated, with a very efficient police. The streets are narrow, as 
they ought to be in hot countries, and towards the evening 
thronged with volantes. a light spider-like carriage peculiar to 
Cuba, freighted with black- eyed beauties on their way to the 
paseo, shopping, or to Dominica's, the celebrated neveria or ice- 
shop, where they very properly pull up " a refrescar un tantito " 
— to cool the courage — before M showing" on the excitable paseo. 

From seven to ten the Paseo Tacon is thronged, and a 
stranger had better pause before he runs the gauntlet of such 
batteries of eyes and fans, as he never before, in his northern 
philosophy, thought or dreamed of. The ladies dress in white, 
with their beautiful hair unsacrificed by bonnet, and, if orna- 
mented, by a simple white or red rose, a la moda Andaluza. 
However perfect may be their figures, you see them not. One's 
gaze is concentrated in their large lustrous eyes, w hich, when you 
get within their reach, swallow you up as the sun swallows a 
comet when he is rash enough to approach too near, throwing 
you out again, a burnt-up cinder, to be resuscitated and reburned 
by the next eyes which pass. The Havaneras certainly surpass 
the Spaniards in the beauty of their eyes, if that be possible. 

"With their eyes and abanicos (fans) the Havaneras have no 
need of tongues ; which, however, they can use on emergencies. 
Whereas every pretty woman can in some degree " make the 
eyes speak," no other than a Spanish beauty can use a fan. 
This is to them the " idioma cle amor," the language of love. 
Assisted by the eye it is eloquence itself, and in the hands of a 
coquette, like a gun in the hands of a careless boy, is a most 
dangerous weapon. To see this language spoken in perfection, 
visit the theatre Tacon, which by the way is the prettiest theatre 
in the world. Here, between the acts, nothing is heard but 
the clicking of fans, whilst cross fires of lightning-glances pierce 
one through and through. The front of the boxes in the Tacon 
is of light open work, through which the white dresses of the 
ladies are seen, and which has a very pretty effect. Unlike the 
boxes of our opera, which invidiously conceal all but the 
beauties " above the zone," here the whole figure, simply draped 



10 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. ii. 

in white, is fully displayed. Foreigners say that an English- 
woman should never be seen but in an opera-box ; and the 
Spaniards affirm that, whereas an " Englishwoman should be 
seen at a window, and a Frenchwoman promenading, the gods 
have vouchsafed that a Spaniard may be looked at everywhere :" 
" La Ynglesa en la ventana, la Francesca paseandose, la Espanola, 
por onde se quiere." 

Three miles from Havana is El Cerro, where the wealthy 
merchants have their country seats, and resort with their families 
during the sickly season. The fronts of these houses are com- 
pletely open, save by light bars, so that at night, when lighted 
up, the whole interior is perfectly displayed. Night is the 
fashionable time for visiting ; and through this open birdcage- 
work may be seen a formal row of males in front of the ladies, 
for here, in this excitable climate, it is deemed imprudent to 
bring into actual contact such substances as flint and steel, or 
fire and tow. 

After four days' stay in Havana, I again embarked on board 
the steamer, and in such a storm of thunder and rain as I shall 
never forget. I engaged a shore-boat manned by two mulattos, 
and before we could reach the steamer the hurricane broke upon 
us. The lightning appeared actually to rain down, the flashes 
being incessant, whilst the rain descended with such violence as 
nearly to fill and swamp the boat. The boatmen swore and 
cursed, and crouched under the thwarts ; the sail and mast 
were blown clean away ; and for more than an hour we were 
unable to face the storm. At length, taking advantage of a lull, 
we managed to reach the vessel, and after a vexatious delay of 
several hours got under weigh. On passing the Morro, we were 
hailed and ordered to bring to, whilst, at the same moment, a 
boat, with a corporal and three men, put off from the castle, and 
boarded us. We had on board a great number of passengers on 
their way to Mexico, and many were probably leaving Cuba 
without the necessary passport, so that, on the arrival of the boat, 
many olive-coloured gentlemen with moustaches dived suddenly 
below, being seized with a sudden desire to explore the hold and 
other cavernous portions of the ship. However, in a few minutes 
all the passengers were mustered on deck by the captain, and 
their names called. As one unlucky Spaniard answered to his 



chap, ii.] SPANISH NONCHALANCE— "THE ARAB" 11 

name, the corporal stepped up to him, laying- his finger on his 
shoulder, with " En el nombre del gobernador," in the name of 
the governor. " A su disposicion, amigo" — at your service, 
friend — answered the captured one. and, quietly lighting his cigar, 
descended into the guard-boat with his trunk, en route to the 
dungeons of the Morro. u Viva !" exclaimed the Spaniards : 
" mal( : ito sea el despota," curse the despot ; and, breathing 
freely, relighted their puros, and indulged in a little abuse of 
their colonial government. 

The day after our departure from Havana we overtook a 
small steamer under the British flag, which was pronounced to 
be the " Arab," having" on board the ex-President of Mexico, 
General Santa Anna. As she signalled to speak, we bore clown 
upon her, and, running alongside, her captain hailed to know if 
we would take on board four passengers ; which was declined, 
our skipper not wishing to compromise himself with the Ame- 
rican blockading squadron at Vera Cruz, by carrying Mexican 
officers. We had a good view of Santa Anna, and his pretty 
young wife, who, on hearing our decision, stamped her little foot 
on the deck, and turned poutingly to some of her suite. It 
seemed that the "Arab" had disabled her machinery, and was 
making such slow progress that Santa Anna was desirous of 
continuing the trip in the " Medway." He was provided with 
a passport from the government of the United States to enable 
him to pass the blockade ; which very questionable policy on 
the part of that government it is difficult to understand ; since 
they were well aware that Santa Anna was bitterly hostile to 
them, whatever assurances he may have made to the contrary; 
and at the same time was perhaps the only man whom the Mexican 
army would suffer to lead them against the American troops. 

On the fifth morning after leaving Havana, at 6 a.m., we made 
the land, and were soon after boarded by one of the American 
blockading squadron — the corvette St. Mary's. It was expected 
that Santa Anna was on board, and the officer said that instruc- 
tions had been received to permit him to enter Vera Cruz. 

At 7 we passed the castle of San Juan de Ulloa, and anchored 
off the citv of the True Cross, or, as it is often and most aptly 
called, "LA CIUDAD DE LOS MUERTOS," The City 
of the Dead. 



12 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. hi. 



CHAPTER III. 

Vera Cruz— Appearance of Town— Cadaverous Population— Sopilotes— 
Mementos of War— American Bombardment— Unnecessary Act — Pre- 
parations for Reception of Santa Anna— Military Display— El Onze — 
Mexican Soldier— Mexican Fonda— Frijoles— Jolly Priests— Castle or 
San Juan de Ulloa— Its Garrison— Weakness— The Fever-Cloud— Vera 
Cruz Market— Fish and Fowl — Papagayas and Snakes. 

Vera Cruz derives its name from the first city built on this 
continent by Cortes, in 1519-20. La villa rica de la Vera Cruz — 
the rich city of the True Cross — was situated a few miles to the 
north-east of the present city, and was built by the conquistador 
as a garrison on which to fall back, in case his expedition into the 
interior proved a failure. 

From the sea the coast on each side the town presents a dismal 
view of sandhills, which appear almost to swallow up the walls. 
The town, however, sparkling in the sun, with its white houses 
and numerous church-spires, has rather a picturesque appearance ; 
but every object, whether on sea or land, glows unnaturally in 
the lurid atmosphere. It is painful to look into the sea, where 
shoals of bright-coloured fish are swimming ; and equally painful 
to turn the eyes to the shore, where the sun, refracted by the 
sand, actually scorches the sight, as well as pains it by the qui- 
vering glare which ever attends refracted light. 

The city is well planned, surrounded by an adobe wall, with 
wide streets crossing each other at right angles. There are also 
several large and handsome buildings fast mouldering to decay. 
One hundred years ago a flourishing commercial city, like every- 
thing in Spanish America, it has suffered from the baneful effects 
of a corrupt, impotent government. Now, with a scanty popu- 
lation, and under the control of a military despotism, its wealth 
and influence have passed away. The aspect of the interior of 
the town is dreary and desolate beyond description. Grass grows 
in the streets and squares ; the churches and public buildings are 



chap, in.] VERA CRUZ. 13 

falling to ruins : scarcely a human being is to be met, and the 
few seen are sallow and lank, and skulk through the streets as 
if fearing to encounter, at every corner, the personification of 
the dread vomito, which at this season (August) is carrying oft' a 
tithe of the population. Everywhere stalks the " sopilote" 
(turkey-buzzard), sole tenant of the streets, feeding on the 
garbage and carrion which abound in every corner. 

The few foreign merchants who reside here, remove their 
families to Jalapa in the season of the vomito, and all who have 
a few dollars in their pockets betake themselves to the tempe- 
rate regions. The very natives and negroes are a cadaverous 
stunted race ; and the dogs, which contend in the streets with the 
sopilotes for carrion, are the most miserable of the genus cur. 
Just before my window one of these curs lay expiring in the 
middle of the street. As the wretched animal quivered in the 
last gasp, a sopilote flew down from the church -spire, and, perch- 
ing on the body, commenced its feast. It was soon joined by 
several others, and in five minutes the carcase was devoured. 
These disgusting birds are, however, useful scavengers, and, per- 
forming the duty of the lazy Mexicans, are therefore protected 
by law. 

The town still presents numerous souvenirs of the bombard- 
ment by the warlike De Joinville in 1839. The church- towers 
are riddled with shot, and the destructive effects of shells still 
visible in the heaps of ruins which have been left untouched. 
Since my visit it has also felt the force of American ire, and 
withstood a fierce bombardment for several days, with what ob- 
ject it is impossible to divine, since a couple of thousand men 
might have at any time taken it by assault. The castle was not 
attacked, and was concluded in the capitulation without being 
asked for — cosa de Mexico. The town was attacked by the 
American troops under General Scott within ten months after my 
visit. It suffered a bombardment, as is well known, of several 
days, an unnecessary act of cruelty in my opinion, since, to my 
knowledge, there were no defences round the city which could 
not have been carried, including the city itself, by a couple of 
battalions of Missouri volunteers. I certainly left Vera Cruz 
under the impression that it was not a fortified place, with the 
exception of the paltry wail I have mentioned, which, if my 



14 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. hi. 

memory serves me, was not even loopholed for musketry. How- 
ever, temporary defences might have been thrown up in the 
interval between my visit and the American attack ; still I cannot 
but think that the bombardment was cruel and unnecessary. The 
castle could have been carried by a frigate's boarders, having 
but seven hundred naked Indians to defend it. 

At the moment of my arrival there was no little excitement 
in Yera Cruz. The " siempre heroica " — always heroical city 
and castle — had pronounced for the immortal saviour of his 
country, as they styled Santa Anna; forgetting, in their zeal, 
that twelve months before they had kicked out the same worthy, 
heaping every opprobrious epithet and abuse that Mexican 
" faeultad de lengua " could devise. Moreover, the hero was 
hourly expected, and great preparations were on hand for his 
reception. 

With this object the crack regiment of the Mexican army, 
el onze — the 11th — which happened to be in garrison at the 
time, cut most prodigious capers in the great plaza several times 
a-day, disciplinando — drilling for the occasion. Nothing can, 
by any possibility, be conceived more unlike a soldier than a 
Mexican militar. The regular army is composed entirely of 
Indians — miserable-looking pigmies, whose grenadiers are five 
feet high. Yera Cruz, being a show place, and jealous of its 
glory, generally contrives to put decent clothing, by subscrip- 
tion, on the regiment detailed to garrison the town ; otherwise 
clothing is not considered indispensable to the Mexican soldier. 
The muskets of the infantry are (that is, if they have any) con- 
demned Tower muskets, turned out of the British service years 
before. I have seen them carrying firelocks without locks, and 
others with locks without hammers, the lighted end of a cigar 
being used as a match to ignite the powder in the pan. Disci- 
pline they have none. Courage a Mexican does not possess; 
but still they have that brutish indifference to death, which could 
be turned to account if they were well led, and officered by men 
of courage and spirit. 

Before delivering my letters I went to a fonda or inn kept by 
a Frenchman, but in Mexico- Spanish style. Here I first made 
acquaintance with the frijole, a small black bean, which is 
the main food of the lower classes over the whole of Mexico, 



chap, in.] SAN JUAN DE ULLOA. 15 

m — _____________________ | 

and is a standing dish on every table, both of the rich and poor. 
The cuisine, being Spanish, was the best in the world, the wine 
good, and abundance of ice from Orizaba. Amongst the com- 
pany at the fonda was a party of Spanish padres, a capellan of a 
Mexican regiment, and a Capuchin friar. I was invited one 
evening to their room, and was rather surprised when I found I 
was in for a regular punch-drinking bout. The Capuchino pre- 
sided at the bowl, which he concocted with considerable skill ; 
and the jolly priests kept it up until the grey of the morning, 
when they all sallied out to mass, it being the feast of San Isidro. 

The next day I accompanied this clerical party to the castle 
of San Juan de Ulloa, which we were allowed to inspect in 
every part. I thought it showed very little caution, for I might 
have been an American for all they knew to the contrary. The 
fortress is constructed with considerable skill, but is in very bad 
repair. It is said to mount 350 pieces of artillery, many of 
heavy calibre, but is deficient in mortars. The garrison did not 
amount to more than 700 men, although they were in hourly 
expectation of an attack by the American squadron ; and such 
a miserable set of naked objects as they were could scarcely be 
got together in any other part of the world. 

Our party was ciceroned by an aide-de-camp of the governor, 
who took us into every hole and corner of the works. The 
soldiers' barracks were dens unfit for hogs, without air or venti- 
lation, and crowded to suffocation. 

In one of the batteries were some fine 98-pounders, all English 
manufacture, but badly mounted, and some beautiful Spanish 
brass guns. Not the slightest discipline was apparent in the 
garrison, and scarcely a sentinel was on the look-out, although 
the American squadron was in sight of the castle, and an attack 
was hourly threatened. On the side facing the island of Sacri- 
ficios the defences were very weak ; indeed, I saw no obstruction 
of sufficient magnitude to prevent half a dozen boats' crews 
making a dash in the dark at the water-batteries, where at this 
time were neither guns nor men, nor one sentry whose post 
would command this exposed spot ; thence to cross the ditch, 
which had but two or three feet of water in it, blow open the 
gate of the fortress with a bag of powder, and no organised re- 
sistance could be dreaded when once in the castle. 



16 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. hi. 

I pointed this out to one of the officers of the garrison. He 
answered, " No hay cuidado, no hay cuidado ! somos muy 
valientes," — u Never fear, never fear ! we are very brave here." 
" Si quieren los Americanos, que vengan" — " If the Americans 
like to try, let them come." 

As we returned at night to Vera Cruz, a dull yellowish haze 
hung over the town. I asked the " patron " of the boat what 
it was. Taking his cigar from his mouth, he answered quite 
seriously, " Senor, es el vomito" — it 's the fever. 

There is a very good market at Vera Cruz : the fish depart- 
ment is well worth a visit. At sunrise the Indian fishermen 
bring in their basket-loads, which they pile on the ground ; and 
the beautiful and varied tints of the fish, which exhibit all the 
colours of the rainbow, as well as the fish themselves, of all 
shapes and sizes, form a very pleasing sight. Two hours after 
sunrise the fish are all sold or removed : indeed, if not imme- 
diately cooked they will putrify in a few hours. 

The vegetable-market is well supplied, and exhibits a great 
variety of tropical fruits. The Indians of the u tierra caliente" 
are neither picturesque in dress nor comely in appearance. They 
are short in stature, with thick clumsy limbs, broad faces with- 
out any expression, and a lazy sullen look of insouciance. They 
are, however, a harmless, inoffensive people, and possess many 
good traits of character and disposition. In the market devoted 
to flesh and fowl, parrots form a staple commodity. They are 
brought in in great numbers by the Indians, who lay great store 
on a talking-bird, " un papagaya que habla." Peccaries, deer, 
and huge snakes I also saw exposed for sale. 



chap, iv.] SANTA ANNA. 17 



CHAPTER IV. 

Arrival of Santa Anna — Capers of El Onze — Landing of the General — His 
Appearance — La Senora — Cool Reception — An Emeute — Only a Revolu- 
tion — Patriotic Tinman — Conference with Santa Anna — Bearding the 
Lion — Manifiesto — Rumours of Vomito — Prepare to start for the Capital 
— Castillo — Mexican Dandy — Leave Vera Cruz — The Road — Rainy 
Weather — Marching Order of Mexican Soldiers — British Sailors. 

On the 16th of August the castle, with a salvo of artillery, an- 
nounced the approach of the steamer having on board the illus- 
trious ex-President — General Santa Anna. At 9 a.m. " el Onze" 
marched down to the wharf with colours flying and band play- 
ing. Here they marched and countermarched for two hours 
before a position was satisfactorily taken up. An officer of 
rank, followed by a most seedy aide-de-camp, both mounted on 
wretched animals, and dressed in scarlet uniforms of extraordi- 
nary cut, caracolled with becoming gravity before the aduana or 
customhouse. A most discordant band screamed national airs, 
and a crowd of boys squibbed and crackered on the wharf, sup- 
plied with fireworks at the expense of the heroic city. By dint 
of cuffing, el Onze was formed in two lines facing inwards, ex- 
tending from the wharf to the palacio, where apartments had 
been provided for the General. Santa Anna landed under a 
salute from the castle, and walked, notwithstanding his game 
leg, preceded by his little wife, who leaned on the arm of an 
officer, through the lane of troops, who saluted individually and 
when they pleased, some squibbing off their firelocks, and others, 
not knowing what to do, did nothing. 

Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna is a hale-looking man 
between fifty and sixty, with an Old Bailey countenance and a 
very well built wooden leg. The Senora, a pretty airl of seven- 
teen, pouted at the cool reception, for not one " viva" was heard ; 
and her mother, a fat, vulgar old dame, was rather unceremo- 
niously congeed from the procession, which she took in high 

c 



18 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, iv 

dudgeon. The General was dressed in full uniform, and looked 
anything but pleased at the absence of everything like applause, 
which he doubtless expected would have greeted him. His 
countenance completely betrays his character : indeed, I never 
saw a physiognomy in which the evil passions, which he noto- 
riously possesses, were more strongly marked. Oily duplicity, 
treachery, avarice, and sensuality are depicted in every feature, 
and his well-known character bears out the truth of the impress 
his vices have stamped upon his face. In person he is portly, 
and not devoid of a certain well-bred bearing which wins for him 
golden opinions from the surface-seeing fair sex, to whom he 
ever pays the most courtly attention. 

If half the anecdotes are true which I have heard narrated by 
his most intimate friends, any office or appointment in his gift 
can always be obtained on application of a female interceder ; 
and on such an occasion he first saw his present wife, then a girl 
of fifteen, whom her mother brought to the amorous President, 
to win the bestowal upon her of a pension for former services, 
and Santa Anna became so enamoured of the artless beauty, that 
he soon after signified his gracious intention of honouring her 
with his august hand, after a vain attempt to secure the young 
lady in a less legitimate manner, which the politic mamma, 
however, took care to frustrate. 

Aug. 17. — We had an emeute amongst the Yera-Cruzanos. 
As I was passing through the great plaza, a large crowd was 
assembled before the Casa de Ayuntamiento, or town-hall. Ac- 
costing a negro, who, leaning against a pillar, was calmly 
smoking his paper cigar, a quiet spectator of the affair, I in- 
quired ihe cause of the riotous proceeding. " No es mucho, 
caballero ; un pronunciamiento, no mas," he answered — nothi no- 
sir, nothing, only a revolution. On further inquiry, however, 
I learned that the cause of the mob assembling before the 
ayuntamiento was, that the people of Vera Cruz willed that 
one of that body should, as their representative, proceed to 
the palace to lay before Santa Anna a statement of certain 
grievances which they required should be removed. Not one of 
that body relished the idea of bearding the lion in his den, 
although supposed at this moment to be on his good behaviour, 
but one Sousa, a native of Vera Cruz, and by trade a tinman, 



chap, iv.] A CONFERENCE. 19 

stepped forth from the crowd and declared himself ready to 
speak on the part of the people. 

They had previously clamoured for Santa Anna to show him- 
self in the balcony of the palace, but he had excused himself 
on the plea of being unable to stand on account of his bad leg, 
and said he was ready at any time to receive and confer with 
one of their body. Sousa, the volunteer, at once proceeded to 
the palace, and without ceremony entered the General's room, 
where Santa Anna was sitting surrounded by a large staff of 
general officers, priests, &c. Advancing boldly to his chair, he 
exclaimed, " Mi General, for more than twenty years you have 
endeavoured to ruin our country. Twice have you been exiled 
for your misdeeds : beware that this time you think of us, and 
not of yourself only !" 

At this bold language Santa Anna's friends expressed their 
displeasure by hissing and stamping on the floor; but Sousa, 
turning to them with a look of contempt, continued : " These, 
General, are your enemies and ours ; y mas, son traidores — and 
more than this, they are traitors. They seek alone to attain 
their ends, and care not whether they sacrifice you and their 
country. They will be the first to turn against you. Para 
nosotros, Vera- Cruzanos qui somos — for us, who are of Vera 
Cruz — what we require is this : remove the soldiers ; we do not 
want to be ruled by armed savages. Give us arms, and we will 
defend our town and our houses, but we want no soldiers." 

Santa Anna, taken aback, remained silent. 

" Answer me, General," cried out the sturdy tinman : " I repre- 
sent the people of Yera Cruz, who brought you back, and will 
be answered." 

" To-morrow," meekly replied the dreaded tyrant, " I will give 
orders that the troops be removed, and you shall be supplied with 
one thousand stand of arms." " Esta bueno, mi General " — it is 
well, General — answered Sousa, and returned to the mob, who, 
on learning the result of the conference, filled the air with vivas. 

" Valgame en Dios !" exclaimed my friend the negro ; " que 
hombre tan osado es este !" — whar pluck this man must have to 
open his lips to the Presidente ! 

The next morning Santa Anna left Yera Cruz for his hacienda 
— Manga del Clavo — first causing a manifiesto to be published, 

c 2 



20 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [_chap. rv. 

declaring his views and opinions with regard to the present 
critical state of affairs. This paper was very ably written by 
Rincon, and exhibited no little cleverness of composition, inas- 
much as great tact was required, owing to the numerous tergi- 
versations of Santa Anna, to steer clear of such subjects as 
would compromise his present declaration in favour of federalism, 
to which he has hitherto been strenuously opposed. In it he 
declares his determination to prosecute to the last the war witli 
the United States, and his willingness to sacrifice his life and 
fortune in defence of his country ; deprecates the notion of 
foreign intervention, and scouts at the idea of the " monarchical 
question " being introduced into any political discussion. In 
conclusion, he earnestly besought his countrymen to arm against 
the common foe. 

Two or three days after my arrival in Vera Cruz, suspicious 
rumours of vomito reached my ears, and caused me to pack up 
my traps ; and having determined to ride to Jalapa, instead of 
travelling by the lumbering diligencia, my hospitable enter- 
tainers, on learning my intention, immediately made arrange- 
ments for a supply of cavalry, and placed me under the charge 
of a confidential servant of the house, who was to pilot me to 
Jalapa. 

About 4 p.m. on the 19th of August, Castillo made his 
appearance, with a couple of horses equipped in Mexican style, 
himself attired in a correct road costume — black glazed sombrero 
with large brim and steeple crown, ornamented with a band of 
silver cord and silver knob on the side ; blue jacket with row r s 
of silver buttons, and fancifully braided ; calzoneras or pan- 
taloons of velveteen, very loose, and open from the hip-bone 
to the bottom of the leg, the outside ornamented with filagree 
buttons ; under these overalls, the calzoncillas or loose drawers 
of white linen ; boots of untanned leather, with enormous spurs, 
buckled over the instep by a wide embroidered strap, and with 
rowels three inches and a half in diameter ; a crimson silk sash 
round his waist, small open waistcoat exhibiting a snow-white 
shirt, a puro in his mouth, and a quarta or whip hanging by a 
thong from his wrist. Such w r as Castillo, not forgetting, how- 
ever, that in person he was comely to look upon, and, living in 
an English house, was no libel upon its excellent cuisine, carry- 



chap, iv] THE ROAD— MEXICAN SOLDIERS. 21 

ing a most satisfactory corporation and a fat good-humoured 
face. 

A common way of travelling in the tierra caliente is by 
littcra, a litter carried between two mules, in which the traveller 
luxuriously reclines at full length, sheltered from the rain and 
sun by curtains which enclose the body, and smokes or reads at 
his pleasure. In one of these, about to return empty to Jalapa, 
I despatched my baggage, consigning a change of linen to Cas- 
tillo's alforjas or saddle-bags. At 4 p.m. we trotted out of Vera 
Cruz, and, crossing the sandy plain outside the town, pulled up 
at an Indian hut where Castillo informed me it was necessary to 
imbibe a stirrup-cup, which was accordingly presented by an 
Indian Hebe, who gave us a " buen viage " in exchange for the 
clacos we paid for the mezcal. The road here left the sandy 
shore, and turned inland, through a country rank with tropical 
vegetation, with here and there an Indian hut — a roof of palm- 
leaves supported on bamboo poles, and open to the wind — peeping 
out of the dense foliage. We presently came to a part of the 
road cut up and flooded by the heavy rains which towards sun- 
set poured mercilessly upon us, but not before Castillo had 
thrust his head through the slit in his serape, and, with shoulders 
protected by his broad-brimmed sombrero, defied the descending 
waters. Not so my unlucky self, who, green as yet in the 
mysteries of Mexican travelling, had not provided against 
aqueous casualties, and in a few seconds my unfortunate Panama 
was flapping miserably about my ears, and my clothes as drenched 
as water could make them. However, there was no remedy, 
and on we floundered, through pools of mud and water full of 
ducks and snipe and white herons; the road becoming worse 
and worse, and the rain coming down with undeniable vigour. 
Just before sunset we overtook the rear-guard of the valiant 
Eleventh, which that day had marched from Yera Cruz en route 
to the seat of war, for the purpose, as one of the officers informed 
me, " dar un golpe a los Norte Americanos " — to strike a blow at 
the North Americans. 

The marching costume of these heroes, I thought, was pecu- 
liarly well adapted to the climate and season — a shako on the 
head, whilst coat, shirt, and pantaloons hung suspended in a 
bundle from the end of the firelock carried over the shoulder, 



22 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. iv. 



and their cuerpos required no other covering than the coatings 
of mud with which they were caked from head to foot, sin^in^. 
however, merrily as they marched. 

Night now came on, and pitchy dark, and the road was almost 
impassable from the immense herds of cattle which literally 
blocked it up. The ganado* all belonged to Santa Anna, whose 
estate extends for fifty miles along the road, and bore the well- 
known brand of A. L. S. A. — alsa, or forward, as the Mexicans 
read it, which are the initials of the General Antonio Lopez de 
Santa Anna. Finding it utterly impossible to proceed, we 
stopped at the first Indian hut we came to, where we secured our 
animals in a shed, and, in company with the rear-guard of the 
" Onze," who arrived shortly after, made ourselves uncomfortable 
for the night. 

The next morning, before daylight, we were in our saddles, 
the rain still descending in torrents. " No hay remedio' — there 's 
no help for it" — said Castillo ; " we had better push on :" and on we 
splashed. " Hi esta muy buen conac — very good brandy up there" 
— he remarked, after we had ridden a few miles ; and, dashing the 
spurs into his beast, darted up a hill to a house, and called for 
a tumbler of brandy and milk, which was not unpalatable after 
our wet ride. Sitting under the verandah were two sailors — - 
deserters from the " Endymion," lying at Sacrificios. They told 
me they had been to Jalapa on a spree, and now were on their 
way back to rejoin their ship. 

* Ganado mayor — cattle ; ganado menor — sheep and pigs. 



chap, v.] PUENTE NACIONAL. 23 



CHAPTER V. 

Puente Nacional — Wretched Country — Indian Huts— Indian Contentment 
— Weather Clears— Bad Roads — Rank Vegetation— Birds and Bugs — 
El Plan del Rio— Meson— A Male Chambermaid— Valley of El Plan- 
Los Dos Rios — Peak of Orizaba — Different Scenery — Arrive at Jalapa 
— Jalapa — Delicious Climate — Scenery — Las Jalapefias — Female Com- 
plexions — Cotton Factories — Neighbourhood — Productions — Coach Tra- 
velling to Mexico— Robbers and Robberies — Arrival of English Naval 
Officers — Preparations for Road — Examine Arms — The Diligencia — Pa- 
cific Passengers — Mountain Scenery — Coffre of Perote — Perote and 
Castle— Road to Puebla — Crosses — Novedades — Arrive at Puebla — 
Robber Spy — Cosas de Mejico. 

The weather clearing, we resumed our journey, and halted to 
breakfast at Puente Nacional, once del Rey. 

The bridge, built of stone, spans a picturesque torrent, now 
swollen and muddy with the rains. The village is small and 
dirty, with a tolerable inn, where the diligencia stops. Here we 
were regaled with frijoles and chile Colorado, and waited upon 
by a very pretty Indian girl. 

The scenery is wild and desolate ; the vegetation, although 
most luxuriant, looks rank and poisonous, and the vapours, which 
rise from the reeking undergrowth, bear all kinds of malaria over 
the country. Few villages are met with, and these consist of 
wretched hovels of unburnt brick (adobe), or huts of bamboo and 
palm-leaf. Each has its little patch of garden, where the plan- 
tain, maize, and chile are grown. Strings of the latter invariably 
hang on every house, and with it, fresh or dried, the people 
season every dish. The land appears good, but, where every- 
thing grows spontaneously, the lazy Indian only cares to cul- 
tivate sufficient for the subsistence of his family. The soil is 
well adapted for the growth of cotton, sugar, and tobacco. I 
asked a farmer why he did not pay more attention to the cultiva- 
tion of his land. " Quien sabe," was his answer ; " con maiz y 
chile, no falta nada" — who wants more than corn and chile, 
vaya? 



24 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. v. 

" These men are brutes," put in Castillo ; " ni vida saben" — they 
don't know even what it is to live ; just then a " biftek a la 
Ynglesa " in the kitchen of " la casa " in Vera Cruz occurring 
to his miners eye. 

When we turned out after breakfast we found the heavy roll- 
ing clouds clearing off, and the sun shining brightly from a patch 
of deep blue. 

" Ya viene buen tiempo," prophesied our host, as he held my 
stirrup ; and for once he was a true prophet, for we had six or 
eight hours' magnificent weather, during which the sun dried our 
clothes, and baked the mud upon them, and we were enabled to 
keep our cigars alight, which in the morning was an impos- 
sibility. The road was wretched, although it lias been called by 
an ingenious traveller " a monument of human industry ;" a 
monument of human ignorance and idleness would be the better 
term. On each side the scenery was the same — a sea of burning 
green. Now, however, the woods were alive with birds of gaudy 
plumage : cardinals, and catbirds, and parrots, with noisy 
chatter, hopped from tree to tree; every now and then, the Mex- 
ican pheasant — chachalaca — a large noble bird, flew across the 
road ; and chupamirtos (humming-birds) darted to and fro. The 
pools were black with ducks, cranes, and bitterns ; the air alive 
with bugs and beetles; and in the evening cocuyos (fire-bugs) 
illuminated the scene. Mosquitos were everywhere, and probed 
with poisonous proboscis every inch of unprotected skin. 

At sunset we reached El Plan del Rio, a miserable venta, 
which we found crowded with cavalry soldiers and their horses, 
so that we had great trouble in finding room for our own ani- 
mals. This hostelry belonged to the genus meson, a variety of 
the inn species to be found only in Mexico. It was, however, a 
paradise compared to the mesones north of the city of Mexico ; 
and I remember that I often looked back upon this one, which 
Castillo and I voted the most absolutely miserable of inns, as a 
sort of Clarendon or Mivart's. Round the corral, or yard, where 
were mangers for horses and mules, were several filthily dirty 
rooms, without windows or furniture. These were the guests' 
chambers. Mine host and his family had separate accommoda- 
tions for themselves of course ; and into this part of the mansion 
Castillo managed to introduce himself and me, and to procure 



chap, v.] EL PLAN DEL RIO— JALAPA. 25 

some supper. The chambermaid — who, unlocking the door of 
the room apportioned to us, told us to beware of the mala gente 
(the bad people) who were about — was a dried-up old man, with 
a long grizzled beard and matted hair, which fell, guiltless of 
comb or brush, on his shoulders. He was perfectly horrified at 
our uncomplimentary remarks concerning the cleanliness of the 
apartment, about the floor of which troops of fleas were cara- 
colling, while flat odoriferous bugs were sticking in patches to 
the walls. My request for some water for the purpose of wash- 
ing almost knocked him down with the heinousness of the 
demand ; but when he had brought a little earthenware saucer, 
holding about a tablespoonful, and I asked for a towel, he stared 
at me open-mouthed without answering, and then burst out into 
an immoderate fit of laughter. ik Ay que hombre, Ave Maria 
Purissima, que loco es este !" — Oh, what a man, what a madman is 
this ! '•' Servilleta, panuela, toalla, que demonio quiere ?" — towel, 
napkin, handkerchief — what the devil does he want? — repeating 
the different terms I used to explain that I wanted a towel. 

" Ha, ha, ha! es medio-tonto, es medio- tonto " — a half-witted 
fellow, I see. " Que demonio ! quiere agua, quiere toalla !" — 
what the d — 1 ! he wants water, towels, everything. "Adios ! " 

El Plan del Rio is situated in a circular valley or basin, sur- 
rounded by lofty hills, which are covered with trees. An old 
fort crowns the summit of a ridge on the left of the road, from 
whence a beautiful view is had of the valley, which is the exact 
figure of a cup. We were now constantly ascending, and, leaving 
behind us the tierra caliente, were approaching the more grate- 
ful climate of the tierra templada, or temperate region. At Los 
Dos Rios we had a good view of the Peak of Orizaba, with its 
cap of perpetual snow ; and, still ascending, the scenery became 
more varied, the air cooler, and the country better cultivated ; 
oaks began to show themselves, and the vegetation became less 
rank and more beautiful. Presently, cresting a hill, before us 
lay beautiful Jalapa, embosomed in mountains and veiled by 
cloud and mist. 

Jalapa, the population of which is nearly 17.000, is situated at 
the foot of Macultepec, at an elevation of 4335 feet above the 
level of the sea. Unfortunately this elevation is about that 
which the strata of clouds reach, when, suspended over the ocean, 



26 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. v. 

they come in contact with the ridge of the Cordillera, and this 
renders the atmosphere exceedingly humid and disagreeable, 
particularly in north-easterly winds. In summer, however, the 
mists disappear, the sun shines brightly, and the sky is clear and 
serene. At this time the climate is perfectly heavenly ; the 
extremes of heat and cold are never experienced, and an even 
genial temperature prevails, highly conducive to health and 
comfort. Fever is here unknown ; the dreaded vomito never 
makes its appearance on the table-land ; and, spite of the humid 
climate, sickness is comparatively rare and seldom fatal. The 
average temperature is 60° to 65° in summer. 

There are seasons, however, when Jalapa presents a direct 
contrast to such a picture. Heavy dense clouds envelop, as in a 
shroud, the entire landscape ; a floating mist hangs over the town ; 
and the rolling vapours, which pour through the valley, cause a 
perpetual chipi-chipi, as this drizzling rain is termed. The sun 
is then for days obscured, and the Jalapeno, muffled in his sarape, 
smokes his cigarro, and mutters, " Ave Maria Purissima, que 
venga el sol !" — for a peep at the sun, Holy Virgin ! 

On a bright sunny day the scenery round Jalapa is not to be 
surpassed : mountains bound the horizon, except on one side, 
where a distant view of the sea adds to the beauty of the scene. 
Orizaba, with its snow-capped peak, appears so close that one 
imagines it is within reach ; and rich and evergreen forests 
clothe the surrounding hills. In the foreground are beautiful 
gardens, with fruits of every clime — the banana and fig, the 
orange, cherry, and apple. The town is irregularly built, but 
picturesque ; the houses are in the style of Old Spain, with 
windows to the ground, and barred, in which sit the Jalapenas, 
with their beautifully fair complexions and eyes of fire. 

" Las Jalapenas son muy halaguenas " is a saying common in 
Mexico; and bewitching they are, even with their cigaritos, 
which make a good foil to a pretty mouth. Here is still pre- 
served some of the sangre azuL the blue blood of Old Castile. 
Many of the Jalapa women are dazzlingly fair, whilst others are 
dark as a Malagueiia. In the fonda Vera Cruzana, where I put 
up, and advise all travellers to do the same, were two daughters 
of mine host — one as fair as Jenny Lind, the other dark as 
Jephtha's daughter, and both very pretty. Although the pro- 



chap, v.] J ALAPA— ROBBERS. 27 

verb says u Ventera hermosa, mal para la bolsa" — a pretty- 
hostess gives no change — here it is an exception ; and my friend 
Don Juan will take good care of man and beast, and charge 
reasonably. 

Near Jalapa are two or three cotton-factories, which I believe 
pay well. They are under the management of English and 
Americans. The girls employed in the works are all Indians 
or Mestizas, healthy and good-looking. They are very apt in 
learning their work, and soon comprehend the various uses of 
the machinery. In the town there is but little to see. The 
church is said to have been founded by Cortez, and there is also 
a Franciscan convent. However, a stranger is amply interested 
in walking about the streets and market, where he will see much 
that is strange and new. The vicinity of Jalapa, although poorly 
cultivated, produces maize, wheat, grapes, jalap (from which 
plant it takes its name) ; and a little lower down the Cordillera 
grow the vanilla, the bean which is so highly esteemed for its 
aromatic flavour, and fruits of the temperate and torrid zones. 

On inquiry as to the modes of travelling from Jalapa to the 
city of Mexico, I found that the journey in the diligencia to the 
capital was to be preferred to any other at this season, on account 
of the rains ; although by the former there was almost a certainty 
of being robbed or attacked. So much a matter of course is this 
disagreeable proceeding, that the Mexicans invariably calculate 
a certain sum for the expenses of the road, including the usual 
fee for los caballeros del camino. All baggage is sent by the 
arrieros or muleteers, by which means it is ensured from all 
danger, although a long time on the road. The usual charge is 
twelve dollars a carga, or mule-load of 200 lbs., from Yera Cruz 
to the capital, being from ten to twenty days on the road. The 
Mexicans never dream of resisting the robbers, and a coach-load 
of nine is often stopped and plundered by one man. The ladrones, 
however, often catch a Tartar if a party of foreigners should 
happen to be in the coach ; and but the other day, two English- 
men, one an officer of the Guards, the other a resident in Zaca- 
tecas, being in a coach which was stopped by nine robbers near 
Puebla, on being ordered to alight and boca-baxo — throw them- 
selves on their noses — replied to the request by shooting a couple 



2S ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. v. 

of them, and, quietly resuming their seats, proceeded on their 
journey. 

During my stay two English naval officers arrived in the dili- 
gencia from Mexico. As they stepped out, bristling with arms, 
the Mexican bystanders ejaculated, "Valgame Dios! What 
men these English are !" " Esos son hombres !" — These are men ! 
The last week the coach was robbed three times, and a poor 
Gachupin, mistaken for an Englishman, was nearly killed, the 
robbers having vowed vengeance against the pale-faces for the 
slaughter of their two comrades at Puebla ; and a few months 
before, two robbers crawled upon the coach during the night, and, 
putting a pistol through the leathern panels, shot an unfortunate 
passenger in the head, who, they had been informed, carried arms, 
and was determined to resist. There is not a travelling Mexican 
who cannot narrate to you his experiences on " the road ;" and 
scarcely a foreigner in the country, more particularly English 
and Americans, who has not come to blows with the ladrones at 
some period or other of his life. 

Such being the satisfactory state of affairs, before starting on 
this dangerous expedition, and particularly as I carried all my 
baggage with me (being too old a soldier ever to part with that), 
assisted by mine host Don Juan, I had a minute inspection of 
arms and ammunition, all of which were put in perfect order. 
One fine morning, therefore, I took my seat in the diligencia, 
with a formidable battery of a double-barrel rifle, a ditto carbine, 
two brace of pistols, and a blunderbuss. Blank were the faces of 
my four fellow-passengers when I entered thus equipped. They 
protested, they besought — every one's life would be sacrificed 
were one of the party to resist. " Senores," I said, " here are 
arms for you all : better for you to fight than be killed like a 
rat." No, they washed their hands of it — would have nothing 
to do with gun or pistol. " Vaya : no es el costumbre " — it is 
not the custom, they said. 

From Jalapa the road constantly ascends, and we are now 
leaving the tierra templada, the region of oaks and liquid amber, 
for the still more elevated regions of the tierra fria — called cold, 
however, merely by comparison, for the temperature is equal to 
that of Italy, and the lowest range of the thermometer is 62°. 



chap, v.] PEROTE— MAL PUNTO. 29 

The whole table-land of Mexico belongs to this division. The 
scenery here becomes mountainous and grand ; and on the right 
of the road is a magnificent cascade, which tumbles from the side 
of a mountain to the depth of several hundred feet. The villages 
are few, and fifteen or twenty miles apart, and the population 
scanty and miserable. No signs of cultivation appear, but little 
patches of maize and chile, in the midst of which is an Indian hut 
of reeds and flags. 

In the evening we passed through a fine plain in which stands 
the town and castle of Perote, and near which is the celebrated 
mountain of basaltic porphyry, which, from the singular figure of 
a rock on its summit, is called " El CofFre," the chest. The 
castle of Perote is the " Tower " of Mexico. In it are confined 
the unlucky chiefs whom revolutions and counter-revolutions 
have turned upon their backs. The late President Paredes was 
at this time confined within its walls ; and would have, in a day 
or two, the pleasure of seeing Santa Anna (who himself has been 
a resident here) pass in state to resume the reins of government. 
However, in this country, overturned presidents, et hoc genus 
omne, are always well treated, since it is the common fate of them 
all to be set up and knocked down like ten-pins, and therefore 
they have a fellow-feeling for each other in their adversity. 

In Perote the houses present to the street a blank wall of stone 
without windows, and one large portal, which leads to the patio- 
corral, or yard, round which are the rooms. This shows the 
want of security, where every man's house is indeed his castle. 
From Perote the dangerous road commences, and it is necessary, 
as the conductor informed me, tener mucho cuidado — to keep a 
sharp look-out. 

We left Perote at four in the morning ; consequently it was 
quite dark ; and, as morning dawned, the first objects that met 
our view were the numerous little crosses on the roadside, many 
of them marking the places where unfortunate travellers had 
been murdered. These crosses, however, have not always so 
bloody a signification, being placed in the road oftentimes to 
mark the spot where a coffin has been set down on its way to the 
burial-ground, in order that the bearers may rest themselves, or 
be changed for others. Every now and then our driver looked 
into the window to give notice that we were drawing near a 



30 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. V. 

dangerous spot, saying, " Ahora mal punto, muy mal punto " — 
now we are in a very bad place ; " look to your arms." 

The country appeared rich and fertile, but, as usual, was 
wretchedly cultivated ; and the same miserable population of 
Indians everywhere. Now and then a Mexican proper would 
gallop past, armed to the teeth, when our conductor invariably 
demanded, " Que novedad hay ?" — is there anything new ? — ■ 
always having reference to the doings of the ladrones. " No 
hay nada " — there is nothing stirring — was generally the answer ; 
which could seldom be relied on, as there is hardly a ranchero 
who is not in league with the robbers, and our informant was 
most likely one of them on the look-out. 

At eleven w r e stopped to breakfast, and were joined by a stout 
wench of La Puebla, with a nut-brown face and teeth as white 
as snow. She informed us that there were muy mala gente on 
the road — very bad people — who had robbed the party with which 
she was travelling but the day before ; and, being muy sin ver- 
gilenza — shameless rascals — had behaved very rudely to the ladies 
of the party. Our buxom companion was dressed in true Poblana 
style. Her long black hair was combed over her ears, from 
which descended huge silver earrings ; the red enagua, or short 
petticoat, fringed with yellow, and fastened round her waist 
with a silk band ; from her shoulders to the waist a chemisette 
was her only covering, if we except the gray reboso drawn over 
her head and neck ; and on her small naked foot was a tiny shoe 
with silver buckle. 

However, we reached Puebla safe and sound, and drove into 
the yard of the Fonda de las Diligencias, where the coach and 
its contents were minutely inspected by a robber-spy, who, after 
he had counted the passengers and their arms, immediately 
mounted his horse and galloped away. This is done every day, 
and in the teeth of the authorities, who wink at the cool pro- 
ceeding. 

In a country where justice is not to be had — where injustice 
is to be bought — where the law exists but in name, and is des- 
picable and powerless, it is not to be wondered at that such out- 
rages are quietly submitted to by a demoralized people, who pre- 
fer any other means of procuring a living than by honest work ; 
and who are ready to resort to the most violent means to gratify 



chap, v.] ROBBERS. 31 

their insatiable passion for gambling, which is at the bottom of 
this national evil. It is a positive fact that men of all ranks and 
stations scruple not to resort to the road to relieve their tempo- 
rary embarrassments, the result of gambling ; and numerous in- 
stances might be brought forward where such parties have been 
detected, and in some cases executed for thus offending against 
the laws. One I may mention — that of Colonel Yanes, aide-de- 
camp to Santa Anna, who was garrotted for the robbery and 
murder of the Swiss consul in Mexico a few years since. 



32 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. vi. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Puebla— Fertility of the Country — Mexican Antiquities — Fat Woman — 
Her Consolation — Leave Puebla — Sunrise — Scenery— Rio Frio— Mai 
Punto — Escort — Dangers Past — Numerous Crosses— False Alarm— First 
View of Mexico— The Valley— The City— The Streets— Filth— Leperos 
— Pordioseros — Wretchedness and Vice — Religious Processions — A 
"Fix"— The Cathedral— Ornaments— A Murillo— Gold and Silver— 
View from the Summit— Sight-seeing— Museo Nacional — Aztecan Relics 
— Equestrian Statue of Carlos IV. of Spain — Gallery of Paintings — 
Tacubaya — Aqueduct — Chapultepec — Cypresses — Magnificent Foliage. 

Puebla, the capital of the intendancy of that name, is one 
of the finest cities in Mexico. Its streets are wide and regular, 
and the houses and public buildings are substantially built and 
in good taste. The population, which is estimated at between 
80,000 and 100,000, is the most vicious and demoralized in the 
republic. It was founded by the Spaniards in 1531 on the site of 
a small village of Cholula Indians, and, from its position and the 
fertility of the surrounding country, was unsurpassed by any 
other city in the Spanish Mexican dominions. The province is 
rich in the remains of Mexican antiquities. The fortifications 
of Tlaxcallan and the pyramids of Cholula are worthy of a visit, 
and the noble cypress of Atlixo (the Ahahuete, Cupressus di- 
sticha, Lin.) is 76 feet in circumference, and, according to Hum- 
boldt, the " oldest vegetable monument " in the world. 

At the posada at Puebla I was introduced to the most enor- 
mous woman I have ever seen, but uniting with this awful mag- 
nitude the most perfect symmetry of form and feature. Her 
manners were perfectly lady-like, and she seemed in no degree 
disconcerted by her unusual size. I sat next her at supper, and in 
conversation she very abruptly alluded to her appearance, but 
with the most perfect good humour. " Would you believe, cabal- 
lero," she said to me, " that there is in this very Puebla a girl 
actually fatter than I am ?" " Many as fat, senorita," I answered, 



chap, vi] FAT AND FAIR— SCENERY. 33 

" but " (perpetrating a preposterously far-fetched compliment) 
" few so fair." " Ah, senor, you are laughing at me," she said : 
" ya lo se bien que soy vaca, pero hay otra mas gorda que yo." 
— I know well that I am a cow, but, thank God, there is one 
other in the world fatter than I am. 

I shuddered to see her shovelling huge masses of meat into 
her really pretty mouth, and thought of what the consequences 
would be in a few years' time, when her fine figure would subside 
into a mountain of flesh. 

We left Puebla early in the morning, and, as day broke, a 
scene of surpassing beauty burst upon us. The sun rising behind 
the mountains covered the sky with a cold silvery light, against 
which the peaks stood out in bold relief, whilst the bases were 
still veiled in gloom. The snow-clad peak of Orizaba, the lofty 
Popocatepetl (the hill that smokes) and Iztaccihuatl (the white 
woman) lifted their heads now bright with the morning sun. 
The beautiful plain of Cuitlaxcoapan, covered with golden corn 
and green waving maize, stretched away to the mountains which 
rise in a gradual undulating line, from which in the distance shot 
out isolated peaks and cones, all clear and well defined. 

Passing through a beautiful country, we reached Bio-Frio, a 
small plain in the midst of the mountains, and muy mal punto 
for the robbers, as the road winds through a pine-forest, into 
which they can escape in case of repulse. The road is lined with 
crosses, which here are veritable monuments of murders perpe- 
trated on travellers. Here too we took an escort, and, when we 
had passed the piiiol, the corporal rode up to the windows, say- 
ing, " Ya se retira la escolta," — the escort is about to retire ; in 
other words, Please remember the guard. Each passenger 
presented him with the customary dos reales, and the gallant es- 
cort rode off quite contented. Here too, all the worst puntos 
being passed, my companions drew long breaths ; muttered "Ave 
Maria Purissima — gracias a Dios ya no hay cuidado ;V and lit 
their cigars. We soon after crested the ridge of the mountain, 
and, descending a winding road, turned an abrupt hill, and, just 
as I was settling myself in the corner for a good sleep, my arm 
was seized convulsively by my opposite neighbour, who, with half 
his body out of the window, vociferated : " Hi esta, hi esta, mire, 
por Dios, mire ! " — Look out, for God's sake ! there it is. 

D 



34 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. vi. 

Thinking a ladron was in sight, I seized my gun, but my friend, 
seeing my mistake, drew in his head, saying, " No, no, Mejico, 
Mejico, la ciudad !" 

To stop the coach and jump on the box was the work of a 
moment ; and, looking down from the same spot where probably 
Cortez stood 300 years ago, before me lay the city and valley 
of Mexico, bathed by the soft flooding light of the setting sun. 

He must be insensible indeed, a clod of clay, who does not 
feel the blood thrill in his veins at the first sight of this beauti- 
ful scene. What must have been the feelings of Cortez, when 
with his handful of followers he looked down upon the smiling 
prospect at his feet, the land of promise which was to repay 
them for all the toil and dangers they had encountered ! 

The first impression which struck me on seeing the valley of 
Mexico was the perfect, almost unnatural, tranquillity of the 
scene. The valley, which is about sixty miles long by forty in 
breadth, is on all sides enclosed by mountains, the most elevated 
of which are on the southern side ; in the distance are the vol- 
canoes of Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl, and numerous peaks of 
different elevation. The lakes of Tezcuco and Chalco glitter in 
the sun like burnished silver, or, shaded by the vapours which 
often rise from them, lie cold and tranquil on the plain. The 
distant view of the city, with its white buildings and numerous 
churches, its regular streets and shaded paseos, greatly augments 
the beauty of the scene, over which floats a solemn, delightful 
tranquillity. 

On entering the town, one is struck with the regularity of the 
streets, the chaste architecture of the buildings, the miserable 
appearance of the population, the downcast look of the men, the 
absence of ostentatious display of wealth, and the prevalence of 
filth which everywhere meet the eye. On every side the pas- 
senger is importuned for charity. Disgusting lepers whine for 
clacos : maimed and mutilated wretches, mounted on the backs 
of porters, thrust out their distorted limbs and expose their sores, 
urging their human steeds to increase their pace as their victim 
increases his to avoid them. Rows of cripples are brought into 
the streets the first thing in the morning, and deposited against 
a wall, whence their infernal whine is heard the livelong day. 
Cries such as these everywhere salute the ear : — 



chap, vi.l MEXICO-RELIGIOUS PROCESSIONS. 35 

" Jesus Maria Purissima; una corta caridad, caballero, en el 
nombre de la santissima madre de Dios : una corta caridad, y 
Dios lo pagara a usted" — In the name of Jesus the son of the 
most pure Mary, bestow a little charity, my lord ; for the sake 
of the most holy mother of God, bestow a trifle, and God will 
repay you. 

Mexico is the head-quarters of dirt. The streets are dirty, 
the houses are dirty, the men are dirty and the women dirtier, 
and everything you eat and drink is dirty. 

This love of dirt only refers to the Mexicans proper, since the 
Gachupines,* and all foreigners in the city, and those Mexicans 
who have been abroad, keep themselves aloof and clean. The 
streets are filled with leperos and officers in uniform (pleasing 
themselves as to the style), with priests, and fat and filthy Ca- 
puchinos, friars and monks. 

Observe every countenance ; with hardly an exception a phy- 
siognomist will detect the expression of vice, and crime, and 
conscious guilt in each. No one looks you in the face, but all 
slouch past with downcast eyes and hang-dog look, intent upon 
thoughts that will not bear the light. The shops are poor and 
ill supplied, the markets filthy in the extreme. Let no fas- 
tidious stomach look into the tortillerias, the shops where pastry 
is made. 

The stranger in Mexico is perpetually annoyed by the reli- 
gious processions which perambulate the streets at all hours. A 
coach, with an eye painted on the panels, and drawn by six 
mules, conveys the host to the houses of dying Catholics who are 
rich enough to pay for the privilege : before this equipage a bell 
tinkles, which warns the orthodox to fall on their knees ; and 
woe to the unfortunate who neglects this ceremony, either from 
ignorance or design. On one occasion, being suddenly surprised 
by the approach of one of these processions, I had but just time 
to doff my hat and run behind a corner of a building, when I 
was spied by a fat priest, who, shouldering an image, brought 
up the rear of the procession. As he was at the head of a vast 
crowd who were just rising from their knees, he thought it a 

* The Gachupin is the term of contempt which was bestowed upon the 
Spaniards in the War of Independence, and is now invariably used by the 
lower classes to distinguish a Spaniard from a Mexican. 

D 2 



36 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. vi. 

good opportunity of venting an anathema against a vile heretico. 
Turning first to the crowd, as much as to say, " Just see what a 
dressing I am going to give this fellow/' he, with a most severe 
frown, addressed me : — 

" Man," said he, " do you refuse to kneel to your God?" 
" No, mi padre," I answered, " pero al imagen de madera" — but 
to an image of wood. 

" Vaya," muttered the padre; "lo te pagara el demonio" — 
the devil will pay thee — and marched away. 

The cathedral is a fine large building of incongruous archi- 
tecture. The interior is rich in silver and gold candlesticks and 
ornaments of the precious metals. It is far inferior to the 
churches of Catholic Europe. I visited it during a grand fun- 
cion> when it was crammed with leperos and Indians, the odour 
from whose water -avoiding skins drove me quickly into the open 
air. I vainly searched for a Murillo, which is said to hang, 
unnoticed and unhonoured, in some dark corner of the church. 
After a fruitless search of more than two hours, I gave it up, 
right glad to think that no production of that great master 
existed where it would not be appreciated. It is said the quan- 
tity of gold and silver plate and ornaments of precious stones 
possessed by this church are worth several millions sterling. 
They are, however, carefully hidden, lest they should excite the 
cupidity of some unscrupulous president ; but the gold and silver, 
&c, actually displayed, would be well worthy the attention of a 
sacking party of American volunteers, should the city of the 
Aztecs be rash enough to stand an assault. 

The interior is dark and gloomy, with the usual amount of 
tinsel and tawdry. The view, from the top, of the city and 
valley of Mexico, is very fine ; although the old woman who 
keeps the key of the tower declares that the u vista mas hermosa" 
— the most beautiful view r — is into the square, where nothing is to 
be seen but a stand of hack carratelas, and the scaffolding round 
Santa Anna's statue, which has just been dragged from its cor- 
ner, and re-erected. 

There is little or nothing in the shape of sight-seeing in 
Mexico. The national museum is worth a visit, as it contains a 
good collection of Mexican antiquities, of a light and trivial 
character however. I have seen no Aztecan remains which 



chap. vi. ] MEXICAN ANTIQUITIES— PICTURES. 37 

impress me with the most distant idea that the ancient Mexicans 
possessed any of the arts of civilization, or were further advanced 
than many other nations of ingenious savages, who work in 
stones and feathers. In the working of stones they were cer- 
tainly clever, and the wonder is, with the rude instruments they 
possessed, how they could fashion into any shape the brittle 
materials they made use of. Some masks of the human face, cut 
out of obsidian, are really well executed, as are also several 
figures of beasts, insects, and reptiles, in amethyst, agate, por- 
phyry, serpentine, &c. In the court-yard of the museum is a 
colossal equestrian statue of Charles the Fourth of Spain. This 
used to ornament the great square, where Humboldt assisted in 
its erection in 1803 ; but after the War of Independence, when 
kings went out of fashion in Mexico, it was removed to its 
present site. As a whole it is a w^ork of merit, and the concep- 
tion good ; but possesses many glaring faults. The legs of the 
rider and hind quarters of the horse are out of all proportion ; 
nevertheless the animal is a correct study of a Mexican horse. 
The drapery is good, and the attitude of the horse gives a good 
idea of a trotting charger. 

One of the lions here is the collection of paintings by old (?) 
masters, belonging to the Conde de Cortina. They are now 
removed to the Count's casa de campo, or country seat, atTacu- 
baya, and enjoy the reputation of being the choicest gallery on 
the continent of America. Amongst them are tw r o reputed 
Murillos, and some others attributed to the first masters. 

I gladly availed myself of an opportunity to inspect the col- 
lection, which, I regret to say, greatly disappointed me. One 
of the paintings attributed to Murillo, although of considerable 
merit, does not possess one iota of the style peculiar to that great 
master ; the other is manifestly spurious. Of the remainder I 
need only say that they have been collected at great expense, 
but I fear with little judgment. The Conde de Cortina, the 
head of an old Spanish family, has expended large sums of money 
in making this collection, but it is to be regretted that the agents 
to whom he intrusted the purchase of paintings have, either 
through ignorance or imposition, squandered away such large 
sums as would, if judiciously spent, have been sufficient to have 
purchased many of the finest pictures in Europe. 



38 ADVENTUEES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. vr. 

Tacubaya is the Richmond of Mexico : villas and coun try- 
residences abound, where the aristocracy resort during the hot 
months. The road passes the great aqueduct which supplies 
the city with water from a spring in Chapultepec. It is not 
strongly built, and the arches exhibit many cracks and fissures 
occasioned by the earthquakes. At this season the valley was 
partly inundated, and the road almost impassable to carriages. 

By this road Cortez retreated from the city on the memorable 
" noche triste," the sorrowful night. The fatal causeway, the 
passage of which was so destructive to the Spaniards, was pro- 
bably on nearly the same site as the present road, but the latter 
since that period has entirely changed its character. On return- 
ing from Tacubaya, I visited the hill of Chapultepec, celebrated 
as being the site of Montezuma's palace, on which, towards the 
close of the 17th century, the viceroy Galvez erected a huge 
castle, the remains of which are now occupied by the military 
school. 

Far more interesting than the apocryphal tradition of the 
Indians' palace, the viceroy's castle, or the existing eyesore, is 
the magnificent grove of cypress, which outlives all the puny 
structures of man, and, still in the prime of strength and beauty, 
looks with contempt on the ruined structures of generation after 
generation which have passed away. 

One of these noble trees is upwards of seventeen yards in 
girth, and the most picturesque, and at the same time most nobly 
proportioned tree, it is possible to conceive. It rises into the 
sky a perfect pyramid of foliage, and from its sweeping branches 
hang pendulous, graceful festoons of a mossy parasite. There 
are many others of equal height and beauty, but this one, which 
I believe is called Montezuma's cypress, stands more isolated, 
and is therefore conspicuously grand. From the summit of the 
hill, to which a path winds through a labyrinth of shrubs, a fine 
view of the valley and city of Mexico is obtained, and of the 
surrounding mountains and volcanic peaks. 



chap, vii.] THE PASEO. 39 



CHAPTER VII. 

The Paseo — Fashionable Drive — Equestrians — Private Houses — Hotels — 
Theatres — Streets at Night — Seeing Life in Mexico — A Pulqueria — 
Taken for a Yankee — Make Peace — Predilection for Gueros — Wounded 
Lepero — The Barrio de Santa Anna — A Fandango — A Fight— Sauve-qui- 
peut — Society in Mexico — Preparations for the Reception of Santa Anna 
— Cosas de Mejico — Yankee Horsedealer — Hiring Servant —Preparations 
to start for the North. 

The " Paseo " is the Hyde Park of Mexico. Here resort, about 
four in the afternoon, all the gay and fashionable of the city. 
Coaches, built in the days of our great-grandfathers, rumble 
along on their ponderous leathern springs, drawn by teams of 
sleek and handsome mules. Out of the quaint windows peep 
the lustrous eyes of the senoritas, dressed in simple white. The 
modern European carriages of the foreign ministers dash past ; 
amongst them, conspicuous for correctness of turn-out, the 
u Clarence" of her Britannic Majesty's representative, with his 
lady dressed a la Mexicana, and drawn by a pair of superb 
mules. Caballeros curvet on their caballas de paseo — park 
hacks — with saddles and bridles worth a Jew's ransom, and all 
dressed para la silla — for the saddle — eschewing everything in 
the shape of " tail " to their coats ; for on horseback the correct 
thing is the chaqueta, an embroidered jacket, alive with but- 
tons and bullion. The sombrero Mexicano, and pantaloons open 
from the knee and garnished with silver buttons, and silver spurs 
of enormous size and weight, complete their costume. The 
horse appointments are still more costly. The saddle, the 
pommel and cantle of which are of solid silver, is embossed with 
the same metal in every part ; the stirrups, covered by a flap 
of ornamented leather, and the massive bit, are of silver, and 
frequently partly of gold ; and the reins, and every other portion 
of the equipment, are in similar style. After a turn or two in 
the broad drive* the carriages range up side by side along the 



40 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. vn. 

road, whence their fair inmates admire the passing dandies as 
they curvet past on their well-trained steeds. To the eye of an 
Englishman nothing is more ridiculous than a Mexican's seat on 
horseback : the form of the saddle compels him to sit bolt up- 
right, or rather overhanging the pommel, whilst the stirrups, 
placed behind the girth, draw his legs far behind the centre of 
gravity, his toes just touching the ponderous stirrup. Every 
moment you expect him to fall with his nose between the horse's 
ears, but the high cantle and pommel hold him as in a vice, and 
render his being spilt anything but an easy matter. 

The Paseo itself is a very poor affair, and made still more so 
by two ridiculous fountains, which rival in meanness the equally 
absurd squirts in our Trafalgar Square. 

The private houses in Mexico are well built and commodious. 
The exteriors of many are chastely and most beautifully deco- 
rated, and the rooms are lofty and well proportioned. The en- 
trance is by a large gateway (sometimes double, the exterior one 
being of open iron-work) into the patio or court-yard, round 
which are the stables, coach-houses, and servants' offices. The 
visitor has frequently to thread his way through horses and 
mules, frisking under the hands of grooms, mozos de caballo. 
The dwelling-rooms are on the first and upper stories. 

The hotels are few and wretchedly bad. The best is " La 
Gran Sociedad," under the same roof with the theatre " Na- 
cional," now rechristened of Santa Anna. This is the grand 
theatre, and is rather a good house, with a company of Spanish 
comedians. There is also a smaller one, devoted to light 
comedy and vaudeville. The performers are generally from the 
Havana, and occasionally a " star" arrives from Old Spain. 

The streets of Mexico at night present a very animated ap- 
pearance. In the leading thoroughfares the tortilleras display 
their tempting viands, illuminated by the blaze from a brazero, 
which serves to keep the tortillas and chile Colorado in a proper 
state of heat. To these stalls resort the arrieros and loafers of 
every description, tempted by the shrill invitations of the pre- 
siding fair ones to taste their wares. Urchins, with blazing links, 
run before the lumbering coaches proceeding to the theatres. 
Care/adores — porters — stand at the corners of the flooded streets, 
to bear across the thin-booted passenger on their backs. The cries 



chap, vii.] THE STREETS— PULQUERI AS. 41 

of the pordioseivs, as the beggars are called from their constant 
use of " por Dios," redouble as the night advances. The mounted 
ones urge their two-legged steeds to cut off the crowd thronging 
towards the theatres, mingling their supplications for alms with 
objurgations on their lazy hacks. 

" Una limosnita, caballerito, por ; ' (to the cargador) " Mai ray a ! 
piernas de piedra, anda — and-a-a — ." A small trifle, my little 
lord, for the sake of — (aside to the unfortunate porter, in a stage 
whisper) Thunder and fury, thou stony-legged one ! get on for 
the love of mercy : he is going to give me a claco. Ar-M — - 
ar-r-he. 

Eed-petticoated poblanas* reboso- wrapped, display their little 
feet and well-turned ankles as they cross the gutters ; and, cigar 
in mouth, they wend their way to the fandangos of the Barrio 
de Santa Anna. From every pulque-shop is heard the twanging 
of guitars, and the quivering notes of the cantadores, who excite 
the guests to renewed potations by their songs in praise of the 
grateful liquor. The popular chorus of one of these is : — 

" Sabe que es pulque ? 
Licor divino-o ! 
Lo beben los angeles 
En el sereno-o." 

" Know ye what pulque is ? 
Liquor divine ! 
Angels in heaven 
Prefer it to wine." 

Those philosophical strangers who wish to see " life in Mexico " 
must be careful what they are about, and keep their eyes skinned, 
as they say in Missouri. Here there are no detective police from 
which to select a guide for the back slums — no Sergeant Shackel 
to initiate one into the mysteries of St. Giles's and the Seven Dials. 
One must depend upon his own nerve and bowie-knife, his pre- 
sence of mind and Colt's revolver : but, armed even with all 
these precautions, it is a dangerous experiment, and much better 
to be left alone. Provided, however, that one speaks the lan- 
guage tolerably well, is judicious in the distribution of his 
dollars, and steers clear of committing any act of gallantry by 
which he may provoke the jealousy and cuchillo of the suscep- 
* The Poblana is the Manola of Mexico, 



42 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, vii, 



tible Mejicano, the expedition may be undertaken without much 
danger, and a satisfactory moral drawn therefrom. 

One night, equipped from head to foot "al paisano," and 
accompanied by one Jose Maria Canales, a worthy rascal, who 
in every capacity, from a colonel of dragoons to a horse-boy, 
had perambulated the republic from Yucatan to the valley of 
Taos, and had inhabited apartments in the palace of the viceroys 
as well as in the Acordada, and nearly every intermediate grade 
of habitation, I sallied out for the very purpose of perpetrating 
such an expedition as I have attempted to dissuade others from 
undertaking. 

Our first visit was to the classic neighbourhood of the Acor- 
dada, a prison which contains as unique a collection of male- 
factors as the most civilized cities of Europe could produce. On 
the same principle as that professed by the philosopher, who, 
during a naval battle, put his head into a hole through which a 
cannon-shot had just passed, as the most secure place in the ship, 
so do the rogues and rascals, the pickpockets, murderers, bur- 
glars, highwaymen, coiners, et hoc genus omne, choose to reside 
under the very nose of the gallows. 

My companion, who was perfectly at home in this locality, 
recommended that we should first visit a celebrated pulqueria, 
where he would introduce me to a caballero — a gentleman — who 
knew everything that was going on, and would inform us what 
amusements were on foot on that particular night. Arrived at 
the pulque-shop, we found it a small filthy den, crowded with 
men and women of the lowest class, swilling the popular liquor, 
and talking unintelligible slang. My cicerone led me through 
the crowd, directly up to a man who, with his head through a 
species of sack without sleeves, and sans chemise, was serving 
out the pulque to his numerous customers. I was introduced as 
" un forastero, un caballero Yngles "■ — a stranger — an English 
gentleman, his particular friend. Mine host politely offered his 
hand, assured me that his house and all in it was mine from that 
hour, poured us out two large green tumblers of pulque, and 
requested us to be seated. 

It was soon known that a foreigner was in the room. In spite 
of my dress and common sarape, I was soon singled out. Cries 
of " Estrangero, Tejanot Yanque, burro/' saluted me ; I was a 



chap, vil] TABLES TURNED— KNIFING. 43 

Texan, a Yankee, and consequently burro — a jackass. The 
crowd surrounded me, women pushed through the throng, a ver 
el burro — to look at the jackass ; and threats of summary 
chastisement and ejection were muttered. Seeing that affairs 
began to look cloudy, I rose, and, placing my hand on my heart, 
assured the caballeros y las senoritas that they laboured under 
a slight error : that, although my face was white, I was no Texan, 
neither was I Yankee or a jackass, but " Yngles, muy amigo a la 
republica " — an Englishman, having the welfare of the republic 
much at heart ; and that my affection for them, and hatred of their 
enemies, was something too excessive to express : that to prove 
this, my only hope was that they would do me the kindness to 
discuss at their leisure half an arroba of pulque, which I begged 
then and there to pay for, and present to them in token of my 
sincere friendship. 

The tables were instantly turned : I was saluted with cries of 
" Viva el Yngles ! Que meueren los Yanque*s ! Vivan nosotros 
y pulque !" — Hurrah for the Englishman ! Death to the Yan- 
kees ! Long live ourselves and pulque ! The dirty wretches 
thronged round to shake my hand, and semi-drunken poblanas 
lavished their embraces on "el guero." I must here explain 
that, in Mexico, people with fair hair and complexions are called 
guero, guera ; and, from the caprice of human nature, the guero 
is always a favourite of the fair sex : the same as, in our country, 
the olive-coloured foreigners with black hair and beards are 
thought " such loves " by our fair countrywomen. The guero, 
however, shares this favouritism with the genuine unadulterated 
negro, who is also greatly admired by the Mejicanas. 

After leaving the pulqueria, we visited, without suspicion, the 
dens where these people congregate for the night — filthy cellars, 
where men, women, and children were sleeping, rolled in sarapes, 
or in groups, playing at cards, furiously smoking, quarrelling, 
and fighting. In one we were attracted to the corner of a room, 
whence issued the low sobs of a woman, and, drawing near the 
spot as well as the almost total darkness would admit, 1 saw a 
man, pale and ghastly, stretched on a sarape, with the blood 
streaming from a wound in the right breast, which a half-naked 
woman was trying in vain to quench. 

He had just been stabbed by a lepero with whom he had been 



44 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. vn. 

playing at cards and quarrelled, and who was coolly sitting within 
a yard of the wounded man, continuing his game with another, 
the knife lying before him covered with blood. 

The wound was evidently mortal ; but no one present paid 
the slightest attention to the dying man, excepting the woman, 
who, true to her nature, was endeavouring to relieve him. 

After seeing everything horrible in this region of crime, we 
took an opposite direction, and, crossing the city, entered the 
suburb called the Barrio de Santa Anna. 

This quarter is inhabited by a more respectable class of vil- 
lains. The ladrones a caballo — knights of the road — make this 
their rendezvous, and bring here the mules and horses they have 
stolen. It is also much frequented by the arrieros, a class of 
men who may be trusted with untold gold in the way of trade, 
but who are, when not " en atajo " (unemployed), as unscru- 
pulous as their neighbours. They are a merry set and the best 
of companions on the road ; make a great deal of money, but, 
from their devotion to pulque and the fair sex, are always poor. 
" Gastar dinero como arriero " — to spend money like an arriero — 
is a common saying. 

In a meson much frequented by these men we found a fandango 
of the first order in progress. An atajo having arrived from 
Durango, the arrieros belonging to it were celebrating their safe 
arrival by entertaining their friends with a bayle ; and into this 
my friend, who was a one of them/' introduced me as an amigo 
particular — a particular friend. 

The entertainment was al-fresco, no room in the meson being 
large enough to hold the company ; consequently the dancing 
took place in the corral, and under the portales, where sat the 
musicians, three guitars and a tambourine, and where also was 
good store of pulque and mezcal. 

The women, in their dress and appearance, reminded me of 
the manolas of Madrid. Some wore very picturesque dresses, 
and all had massive ornaments of gold and silver. The majority, 
however, had on the usual poblana enagua, a red or yellow kind 
of petticoat, fringed or embroidered, over the simple chemisette, 
which, loose and uncon fined, except at their waists, displayed 
most prodigally their charms. Stockings are never worn by this 
class, but they are invariably very particular in their chaussure, 



chap, vii.] KNIFE AGAIN. 45 

a well-fitting shoe, showing off their small well-formed feet and 
ankles. 

The men were all dressed in elaborate Mexican finery, and in 
the costumes of the different provinces of which they were 
natives. 

The dances resembled, in a slight degree, the fandango and 
arabe of Spain, but were more clumsy, and the pantomimic action 
less energetic and striking. Some of the dances were descriptive 
of the different trades and professions. El Zapatero, the shoe- 
maker ; el Sastroncito, the little tailor ; el Espadero, the 
swordsman, &c, were amongst those in the greatest demand ; 
the guitar -players keeping time and accompanying themselves 
with their voices in descriptive songs. 

The fandango had progressed very peacefully, and good 
humour had prevailed until the last hour, when, just as the 
dancers were winding up the evening by renewed exertions in 
the concluding dance, the musicians, inspired by pulque, were 
twanging with vigour their relaxed catgut, and a general chorus 
was being roared out by the romping votaries of Terpsichore, 
above the din and clamour a piercing shriek was heard from a 
corner of the corral, where was congregated a knot of men and 
women, who chose to devote themselves to the rosy god for the 
remainder of the evening, rather than the exertions of the dance. 
The ball was abruptly brought to a conclusion, every one hasten- 
ing to the quarter whence the shriek proceeded. 

Two men with drawn knives in their hands were struggling 
in the arms of several women, who strove to prevent then- 
encounter — one of the women having received an ugly wound 
in the attempt, which had caused the shriek of pain which had 
alarmed the dancers. 

" Que es eso .?" — What is this? — asked a tall powerful Duran- 
gueno, elbowing his way through the crowd. " Que quieren esos 
gallos ?" — What do those gamecocks want ? " A ' peiear ?" — To 
fight, eh ? " Yamos, a ver los toros !" — Come, let us see the fun ! — 
he shouted. In an instant a ring was formed ; men and women 
standing at a respectable distance, out of reach of the knives. 
Two men held the combatants, who, with sarapes rolled round 
their arms, passion darting out of their fiery eyes, looked like two 
bulldogs ready for the fray. 



46 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. vii. 

At a signal they were loosed at each other, and, with a shout, 
rushed on with uplifted knives. It was short work with them, 
for at the first blow the tendons of the right arm of one of them 
were severed, and his weapon fell to the ground ; and as his 
antagonist was about to plunge his knife into the body of his 
disarmed foe, the bystanders rushed in and prevented it, at the 
same moment that the patrulla (the patrol) entered the corral 
with bayonets drawn, and sauve-qui-peut was the word ; a visit to 
the Acordada being the certain penalty of being concerned in a 
brawl where knives have been used, if taken by the guard. For 
myself, with a couple of soldiers at my heels, I flew out of the 
gate, and never stopped until I found myself safe under the 
sheets, just as daybreak was tinging the top of the cathedral. 

Society in Mexico, although good, is not much sought after by 
the foreign residents, who have that resource amongst themselves ; 
neither do the Mexicans themselves care to mix with those out 
of their own circle. The Mexican ladies are totally uneducated, 
and in the presence of foreigners, conscious of their inferiority, 
are usually shy and reserved. This of course refers only to 
general society. In their own houses, and amongst themselves, 
they are vivacious, and unaffectedly pleasing in their manners 
and conversation ; and in all classes is evinced a warmth of heart 
and sympathy which wins for the women of Mexico the respect 
and esteem of all strangers. As for their personal attractions, I 
will say, that, although not distinguished for beauty, I never once 
remember to have seen a really ugly woman. Their brilliant 
eyes make up for any deficiency of feature, and their figures, un- 
injured by frightful stays, are full and voluptuous. Kow and 
then, moreover, one does meet with a perfectly beautiful creature ; 
and when a Mexican woman does combine such perfection she 
is " some pumpkins," as the Missourians say when they wish 
to express something superlative in the female line. 

For everything connected with the manners and niantua- 
making of Mexico, the reader is recommended to consult Madame 
Calderon de la Barca, who, making allowances for the couleur 
de rose with which she tints all her pictures, is a lively painter 
of men, manners, and millinery. 

Great preparations were in progress for the prpoer reception 
of the great Santa Anna, who was daily expected to arrive in the 



chap, vii.] COSAS DE MEJICO— YANKEE HORSE-DEALER. 47 

city from the Encerro, his country-house, and where, under the 
pretence that his leg (a never-failing resource) was in such a 
state of inflammation that he was unable to travel, he had been 
very wisely waiting the course of events, and until such time as 
the popular feeling should manifest itself in his favour. His 
statue, which, on the occasion of his being kicked out of 
Mexico a year before, had been consigned to a corner, was now 
restored to light, and in course of erection in the plaza. Painters 
were busy at the corners of the streets printing his name and 
erasing the new one, which at his last exit had been substituted 
for the numerous Calles de Santa Anna. 

The Teatro National was once more the Teatro de Santa 
Anna. Triumphal arches were erected in every direction, with 
inscriptions laudatory of his achievements. One, erected on the 
spot where they, twelve months before, shut the gates on him, 
throwing his renowned leg after him, hailed him in enormous 
letters as " El benemerito de su patria : el immortal Salvador de 
la republica : el heroe de Tamaalipas " — the hero of Tamaalipas : 
the immortal saviour of the republic : the man who deserved 
well of his country : the hero of a hundred fights. At night a 
crowd— hired by the friends of Santa Anna— perambulated the 
streets carrying torches and long stalks of maize, crying, " Viva 
Santa Anna y Mejico : meuren los estrangeros " — death to the 
foreigners, &c. 

After I had been a few days in Mexico I made preparations 
for my journey to the north. In my search for horses and 
mules I paid a visit to the horse-dealing establishment of one 
Smith, a Yankee, and quite a character, who is making a fortune 
in the trade of horseflesh. His stables were filled with nags of 
all sorts and sizes, and amongst them were some of General 
Taylor's troop-horses, belonging to a detachment of dragoons 
which was captured by the Mexicans on the Rio Grande. 
Smith, who is a hearty John-Bull-looking man, has the reputa- 
tion with the Mexicans of being muy picaro — up to snuff — as 
w r hat horse-jockey is not ? but he has all the custom of the city, 
and is of course a great authority on all subjects connected with 
horseflesh. A deputation had just waited upon him to persuade 
him to officiate as Jehu to a carriage and four which was to be 
despatched some ten miles out of the city to bring in Santa 



48 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. vn. 

Anna. 500 dollars was, I believe, the sum offered, which the 
independent Smith refused, as it was a sine qua non that he 
should attire himself in a General's uniform, as he called it, but 
in plain terms, was nothing more or less than a chasseur's livery. 

I selected and purchased two horses from his stud, and better 
animals never felt a saddle : one I rode upwards of 3000 miles, 
and brought it to the end of the journey without flinching ; the 
other, a little blood-horse from the tierra caliente, with a coat as 
fine as silk, I was obliged to part with before entering the in- 
temperate climate of New Mexico, where the cold would have 
quickly killed it. For mules I visited the Barrio de Santa 
Anna, the head-quarters of the arriero, where I soon provided 
myself with those useful animals. 

The greatest difficulty was to procure servants, who were un- 
willing to undertake a journey of such a length, New Mexico 
being here quite a terra incognita, and associated with ideas of 
wild beasts and wilder Indians, and horrors of all sorts. I at 
length hired a mozo to proceed with me as far as Durango, 550 
miles from Mexico, and considered the Ultima Thule of civiliza- 
tion. He was a tall shambling Mexican, from Puebla : his 
name, as usual, Jesus Maria. His certificate of character an- 
nounced him to be u muy hombre de bien " — very respectable, 
faithful, and a good road-servant. His wages were one dollar 
a-day and his food — " un peso diario y la comida" — or nearly 80/. 
a-year of sterling money. 

I was so fortunate as to become acquainted with a young 
Spaniard who was about to start for the mines of Guadaloupe 
y Calvo ; and as our road as far as Durango was the same, we 
agreed to travel in company, which was as agreeable on the score 
of companionship, as it was advantageous in point of security 
against the attacks of robbers, who, in large bands, infest this 
road. 

We had, however, anything but a pleasant prospect before us, 
as the rainy season was at its height ; the valley of Mexico was 
inundated, and the roads almost impassable. In the city of 
Mexico an inundation was dreaded. The streets were many of 
them covered with water, and the black mud was oozing out from 
between the stones of the pavement in every direction, showing 
the boggy nature of the foundation on which the city is built. 



chap, viii.] FIRST DAY'S START. 49 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Leave Mexico — Our Cavallada — Mules in Confusion — Country inundated 
— Arrieros in Distress — Donkeys " mired down" — Guatitlan — First Halt 
— Meson— Tapage — A Breakfast— Hacienda de Canafias— Luxurious Bath 
— Indian Visitors — Miseries of Meson — Vermin— Arrieros' Bivouac — 
Novedades — Deficiency of Wood — Rio Sarco — A Meson described — Mesas 
Puestas — Breakfasts — Hacienda de la Soledad— Band of Robbers— Decline 
Attack — San Juan del Rio — Its Gardens and Fruits — Difficulty of esti- 
mating Population — Day's Travelling — Volcanic Region of Jorullo. 

On the 14th of September, just as a salvo of artillery announced 
the entrance of Santa Anna into the city, our cavalcade, consist- 
ing of upwards of twenty horses and mules, packed and loose, 
sallied out of the north gate, and entered a large common outside 
the city ; and then, once out of the streets, where they were 
easily managed, each loose horse and mule, throwing up its head 
with a grunt of pleasure at seeing the open country, betook 
itself to independent expeditions in search of grass. The mozos 
rushed frantically here and there to collect the scattered atajo. 
The pack-mules threw up their hind legs and refused to listen to 
reason. A big beast of a mule, that was carrying my heaviest 
packs, lay down and rolled, disarranged the aparejo or pack- 
saddle, and off tumbled the baggage into the mud ; — my rifle-case 
disappeared in a deep pool, into which my mozo dived head first 
to rescue it. By this time the other mules had most of them got 
rid of their packs and were quietly grazing, but were at length 
caught and repacked, brought to some degree of order, and we 
resumed our journey — my mozo meeting with an accident which 
was nearly proving serious ; on attempting to remount his horse 
it plunged and threw him upon his head, and for several minutes, 
stunned by the fall, he was perfectly insensible. The same 
horse played me the same trick some days after. 

With mules, the first day's start is invariably a scene of the 

£ 



50 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, .viti 

greatest confusion. The animals are wild, the pack-saddles have 
always something wanting, and the mozos half drunk and help- 
less. In a few days, however, everything is ship-shape ; the 
mules become as docile as dogs, are packed well and quickly, 
and proceed along the road in regular order. 

After proceeding a few miles we found the country entirely 
covered with water, and the road almost impassable. Six miles 
from the city we met some cars floating in the road, and the car- 
riers were swimming the cargoes — cases of cebo (grease or lard) 
— to a dry spot. A little farther on a carratela, full of ladies, 
was stuck hard and fast in the mud ; the mules grazing on the 
road -side, and the men away seeking assistance. A troop of 
donkeys carrying charcoal to the city presented the most absurd 
spectacle. The poor patient animals were literally buried in the 
mud to their very necks, and unable to move a limb. There 
they remained, the very picture of patience, whilst the arrieros 
removed their packs and laid them on the mud. Our animals, 
being strong and fresh, got safely through, after a hard struggle, 
and by dint of the most incessant vociferations on the part of our 
mozos, and with the assistance of a score of invoked saints. 
About dusk we reached Guatitlan, a small town fifteen miles 
from Mexico, and put up in the meson, the corral of which was 
belly-deep in black mud, and round which were half a dozen 
rooms filthily dirty and destitute of furniture. TVe procured for 
supper a pipkin of rice-soup and tomatas and a dish of frijoles ; 
after which, drenched to the skin and sleepy, I rolled myself in my 
wet sarape, and rushed into the arms, not of Somnus, but of hun- 
dreds of thousands of fleas and bugs and mosquitos, whose merci- 
less attacks continued till two o'clock in the morning, when, 
swallowing a cup of chocolate, we were in our saddles and on 
our journey. 

Sept. loth. — To avoid the water-covered plains we took the 
mountain-road, passing through a tract of country covered with 
lava and scoria, with wild and picturesque scenery. At the little 
village of Tapage we halted to breakfast, for which purpose, as 
there was no meson or public-house of any description, we took 
by storm a little mud-built house, where an old Indian woman 
was making tortillas at the door. Our mozos laid the village 
under contribution, and soon returned with a hatful of eggs, 



chap, viii.] TAPAGE— ARRIEROS' BIVOUAC. 51 

which our Indian hostess, with the aid of chile Colorado and 
garlic, converted into a palatable dish. 

On crossing the bridge over an arroyo outside the village, my 
attention was drawn to the figure of an Indian who was kneeling 
before a little cage built in the parapet of the bridge. Looking 
through the bars, I was surprised to see two exceedingly clever 
hea^s of Joseph and Mary in a framed painting. They were 
executed, the Indian informed me, by an artist who passed 
through Tapage a short time before. 

The country here is very beautiful, but poorly cultivated, and 
the population squalid and miserable in the extreme. About 
noon we arrived at the hacienda of Canaiias, in which is a 
meson of the usual description. I enjoyed a bathe in the ice- 
cold waters of a fierce mountain -stream, which dashes through a 
wild dell clothed with beautiful shrubs. As I was lying on the 
ground enjoying a cigar after my bath, a number of Indians 
approached, and examined me with the greatest curiosity. Many 
of them had never before seen a foreigner, and, as they stood 
staring round me, muttered, " Valgame en Dios ; Ave Maria 
Purissima ! que giiero, giiero, y habla como nosostros !" — How 
white, how white is this man, and yet speaks as we do ! 

The day was beautiful ; and as we had finished our day's 
journey of thirty-five miles by one o'clock, the afternoon was 
devoted to cleaning mules and horses and arranging aparejos. 
Our supper consisted of rice, chile, and frijoles, after which I 
rolled myself like a mummy in my sarape, and, spite of entomo- 
logical attacks, was asleep in an instant, and stood the assaults 
of mosquito, bug, and flea, until the mesonero roused me at three 
o'clock with a cup of chocolate, which is the only obtainable 
breakfast in all the mesones on the road. 

16th. — We picked our way up a mountain in the dark, through 
a perfect sea of rocks and stones, and on the summit came sud- 
denly upon the bivouac of a large party of arrieros, who were 
lying snoring in their sarapes round a roaring fire, their mules 
grazing round them. I got off my horse to light a cigar at their 
fire, when one of them, starting up and seeing a stranger, shouted 
" Ladrones !" which quickly roused the rest, who seized their 
escopetos and shouted " Where, where?" Seeing their mistake, 
they rubbed their eyes, and asked the news — the novedades — 

e 2 



52 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. viii. 

which I found with them related to the state of the roads, and 
not revolutions, counter-revolutions, and the like, with which, 
true philosophers, they never trouble their heads. In the first 
part of this day's journey the country was mountainous, and 
covered with dwarf-oak and ilex. We then entered upon a tract 
of open undulating downs dotted with thickets, but with no 
signs of habitation. Every eight or ten miles we passed a 
miserable Indian village with its patch of maize, but the country 
is entirely uncultivated with this exception, and not a soul is met 
on the road. The downs here resemble the rolling prairie of the 
far West, are covered with excellent grass, and capable of sup- 
porting immense herds of cattle. The plains are singularly 
destitute of trees, which the Mexicans say were destroyed by the 
Spanish conquerors, but with what object it is impossible to 
understand, for the want of fuel is a great drawback to the set- 
tlement of this portion of the country. 

At 2 p.m. we arrived at the end of our day's journey, thirty- 
five miles, halting at the Hacienda del Rio Sarco — the farm of 
the muddy brook. We found here a detachment of cavalry on 
their way to the seat of war, and three staff-officers requested 
permission to join our party the next day as a security against 
robbers. The meson was better than usual, being the stopping- 
place of the diligencia to Fresnillo ; but of beds we had taken 
a long leave ; at least I had — for my companion, more luxurious, 
carried a camp-bedstead, which was the load of two mules* 

I do not think I have fully described a meson, which, as it is 
a characteristic discomfort of Mexican travelling, deserves a 
sketch. 

The meson is everywhere the same in form ; a large corral, or 
yard, entered by a huge gateway, is surrounded by some half- 
dozen square rooms without windows or furniture. In one 
corner is generally a stone platform raised about three feet from 
the floor of clay. This is the bed. A little deal table is some- 
times furnished if demanded. In one corner of the corral is the 
cocina, the kitchen, so called — lucus a non lucendo — from the 
fact that nothing is cooked there ; and in an outer yard is the 
caballeriza, the stable, with a well in the centre. The mules are 
unpacked and the baggage secured in one of the rooms destined 
for the masters, while the aparejos and saddles, &c, are placed 



chap, viii.] MESONERO— MEXICAN VALIENTES. 53 

in another occupied by the servants. On entering, the mozo 
shouts for the mesonero, the landlord, who makes his appearance, 
armed with the key of the granary, where corn and straw are 
kept. He condescends to serve out the straw and barley, or 
maize, as the case may be, all of which is duly weighed. The 
mules and horses are consigned to the stable and fed, after which 
the mozos forage for themselves and masters. The following" 
conversation then takes place with the landlord : — 

Mozo. " Amigo, que hay a comer ?" — What is there to eat? 

Mesonero. " Ah, senor, aqui no hay nada " — Ah, my lord, 
there is nothing here. 

Mozo. " Valgame Dios, que pais es este !" — Heaven defend 
me, what a country have we come to ! 

Mesonero. " Si, senor, es muy povre " — It 's true, my lord, it 's 
a very poor country. 

Mozo. " Pero que vamos haeer ? Estan muriendo de hambre 
los caballeros " — But what are we to do ? The gentlemen are 
dying of hunger. 

Mesonero. " Si, sus mercedes lo gustan, hay polio, hay 
frijoles, hay chile Colorado, hay tortillas " — Well, if their wor- 
ships like it, they can have a fowl and frijoles, and red peppers 
and tortillas. 

Mozo. "Esta bueno, amigo !"— Capital, my friend ! and let 
there be enough for us too ; and then " Quiensabe" how much 
corn the horses eat ! Eh, my friend (winking his eye) : " Vaya, 
que vengan " — Go to, let them be prepared. — Exit Mesonero. 

In due course several pipkins make their appearance, contain- 
ing the polio, the frijoles, the chile Colorado, and a pile of tor- 
tillas : knives, spoons, and forks are not known in a meson. 

In the morning, before daylight, the mesonero makes his 
appearance with little cups of coffee, and biscochos (a sweet 
cake), and presents the bill. 

llth. — Leave Rio Sarco — the Mexican officers in company. 
These worthies amused us vastly by their accounts of what they 
were going to do. General Ampudia, they said, was merely 
waiting for the Americans to advance, when he intended to 
entrap them, leap upon and annihilate them at once ; that 
hitherto he had had but raw troops, rancheros and the like, but, 
when the regular cavalry reached him, then, a Dios ! he would act. 



54 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. vin. 

The country, like that through which we passed yesterday, 
was undulating, with fine downs and excellent pasture. The 
villages, consisting of a few huts built of adobes, were few and 
far between. Before the doors of several were placed small 
stools spread with a white cloth, a sign that there the hungry 
traveller might break his fast ; and at one of these mesas puestas 
we made it a custom every morning to halt, and discuss the usual 
fare of eggs, frijoles, and chile. On a large level plain covered 
with cattle, and better cultivated than is generally the case, 
stands the hacienda de la Soled ad (of solitude), well named, 
since it stands alone in the vast plain, the only object which 
breaks the monotony of the view for many miles. The plain is 
surrounded by mountains, and the road passes over a stony 
sierra, thickly covered with the yellow-flowered nopalo, a gigantic 
species of cactus. 

As we were slowly traversing the rocky sierra, we descried, a 
few hundred yards ahead of us, a band of seven horsemen drawn 
up across the road. One of my companion's servants, who had 
been many years a smuggler on this road, instantly recognised 
them as a well-known band of robbers : we therefore, as their 
object was plain, collected our mulada into a compact body, 
and, distributing our party of six, half on each side, we un- 
slung our carbines, threw the flaps off our holsters, and steadily 
advanced, the Spaniard and myself in front, with our pieces 
cocked and ready for service. The robbers, however, saw at a 
glance that two of us were foreigners, for whom and their arms 
they have a great respect, and, wheeling quickly on one side of 
the road, they hitched their ready lassos on the horns of their 
saddles, and, remaining in line, allowed us to pass, saluting us 
with " Adios, caballeros, buen viage !" — a pleasant journey to you 
— the leader inquiring of one of themozos, as he passed, whether 
the diligencia was on the road and had many passengers ? 

They were all superbly mounted, and well armed with carbine, 
sword, and pistols ; and each had a lasso hanging on the horn of 
his high-peaked saddle. " Adios, amigos," we said, as we passed 
them, " y buena fortuna " — and good luck this fine morning. 

Crossing the sierra, we descended into a level and beautiful 
champaign, through which meandered a rushing stream, the Rio 
Lerma. The soil seemed everywhere to be rich and fruitful, 



chap, viii.] SAN JUAN DEL RIO— MODE OF TRAVELLING. 55 



but no signs of cultivation appeared until we approached San 
Juan del Rio, a town of considerable size, and here the milpas, 
the maize-fields, looked green and beautiful. The town, when 
seen from the sierra, as we descended into the plain, looked 
exceedingly Spanish and picturesque. Indeed, in crossing these 
vast and uncultivated tracts, anything in the shape of human 
abode is grateful to the eye ; and even the adobe hut of the 
Indian, with its mesa puesta, is a refreshing oasis in these desert 
solitudes. San Juan del Rio is very beautifully situated, and 
surrounded by fine gardens, which are celebrated for grapes and 
chirimoyas. It is difficult to arrive at anything like a correct 
estimate of the population of a Mexican town, unless by compar- 
ing the size with that of another, the number of whose in- 
habitants is known ; and it is almost impossible to obtain any- 
thing like correct information on any statistical point from a 
Mexican, who, for the glory of his town or province, will in- 
variably give an absurdly exaggerated statement. Thus, on 
asking in San Juan of a respectable merchant what was the num- 
ber of its inhabitants, he gravely answered, "Mas que ochenta 
mil " — more than eighty thousand ; and on another occasion, on 
asking the same question of a " rico" of Taos, a valley of some 
twelve thousand inhabitants, he answered without hesitation, 
" two millions." 

At a rough guess I should estimate the population of San 
Juan del Rio at eight or ten thousand. 

The houses are generally of one story, and built of stone, 
whitewashed, with barred windows,* the same as in old Spain, 
looking into the streets. No particular trade appears to be carried 
on in the town, if we except begging, which here, as everywhere 
else in the country, is in a most flourishing condition. 

We arrived at San Juan about noon, although our day's 
journey was thirty-five miles ; but our animals were getting 
more tractable, and travelled with less disorder, and consequently 
performed the journey quicker, and with less fatigue. 

18th. — The road to-day was better than usual, although we 
passed through a broken country, diversified by mountain, rugged 
sierras, and fertile plains. Our practice was to start before day- 
light in the morning, by which means we avoided travelling in 
* The rejas of the Moorish houses of Andalusia. 



56 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. viii. 

the very hot part of the day, stopping to breakfast wherever a 
" mesa puesta " presented itself; our animals, in the mean while, 
travelling on, performing the whole day's journey without stop- 
ping, and which, I believe, is the best plan ; for a halt of a few 
minutes does not rest the animals, and the removal of packsad- 
dles from the heated beasts often produces troublesome wounds. 

The district in which we were now travelling is situated on 
the verge of the volcanic region of Jorullo, where, in 1759, 
occurred one of the most extraordinary phenomena which has 
ever been observed. A large tract which had long since been 
subjected to volcanic action, but for many centuries had been 
undisturbed, was suddenly the scene of most violent subter- 
raneous commotion. 

A succession of earthquakes continued for the space of two 
months, to the great consternation of the inhabitants, at the end 
of which time they subsided for a few days, but suddenly re- 
commenced with frightful subterranean noises and continued 
shocks. The frightened Indians fled to the neighbouring moun- 
tains, whence they beheld, with horror and alarm, flames issuing 
from the plain, which heaved and tossed like a raging sea, rocks 
and stones being hurled high in air; and suddenly the surface 
of the plain was seen gradually to rise in the shape of a dome, 
throwing out at the same time numerous small cones and masses, 
which rose to an elevation of 1200 and 1400 feet above the 
original level of the plain. 

This is the first of a series of volcanic districts which stretch 
from the valley of Mexico along the whole of the table-land, at 
irregular distances from each other. 

This morning a village presented itself to us, just as we had 
given up all hopes of meeting a breakfast, and a promising-look- 
ing whitewashed house augured well for our hungry stomachs. 
Unfortunately some arrieros had been before us, and all we could 
muster was diguisado of well-picked bones and some chile'd frijoles. 

Descending from the sierra, we entered a magnificent plain 
enclosed by mountains, and arrived at Queretaro at two in the 
afternoon, distant from San Juan del Rio forty miles, it being the 
first town of size or note we had yet seen since leaving Mexico. 



chap, ix.] QUERETAEO— TOBACCO. 57 



CHAPTER IX. 

Queretaro — Gardens — Factories — Tobacco — Monopoly of Cigars — Pulque 
— Colinche — Tunas — Pulque-making — Its Consumption and Flavour — 
Streets of Queretaro — Public Bathing — Ladies in the Gutters — Sin Ver- 
giienza — Miserable Accommodation — Tortilleras — Novel Currency — Soap 
for Silver — Queretaro to Celaya — Limestone — Descent from the Table- 
Land — Climate changes — The Organo — Cactus Hedges — Bad Roads — 
El Paseo — Magueyes and Nopalos — Prickly Pears — Celaya — The Bridge 
— Church and Collecturia — Trade and Population of Town — Productions 
— Abundance of Hares — La Xuage — Indian Church Ceremonies — 
Curiosity of Natives — Seeing the " Giiero " — Temascateo — Mine Host 
— His Ideas of England — Chapel of Don Miguel — Robbers — Mules 
disabled. 

Queretaro, the chief city of the department of that name, 
is well built, and contains many handsome churches and other 
buildings. Its population is over forty thousand, twelve thou- 
sand of whom are Indians. It is surrounded by beautiful gar- 
dens and orchards, which produce a great quantity of fruit for 
the market of the capital. It has several cloth-factories, which 
employ a considerable number of Indians, but are not in a very 
flourishing state. An aqueduct of stone conveys water to the 
city from some springs in the neighbourhood. Its chief trade is 
in the manufacture of cigars of the tobacco of the country. 

The tobacco, as in France and Spain, is a government mono- 
poly. The privilege of cultivating the plant is limited to a small 
extent of country in the departments of Yera Cruz, Puebla, and 
Oajaca ; but lately, on account of its isolated position, and the 
great distance from the capital, with its consequent difficulty of 
transport, the territory of New Mexico is privileged to grow to- 
bacco for its own consumption. The tobacco grown in the above 
districts is purchased by the government at a stated price, and 
its manufacture is committed to individuals in different depart- 
ments. This monopoly, together with that of salt and gun- 
powder, has always been a source of annoyance to the govern- 



58 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. ix. 

ment, and ill feeling on the part of the people. The revenue 
produced by the tobacco monopoly does not amount to more 
than half a million of dollars, owing to the pickings and stealings 
carried on in this as well as every other government department. 
If properly managed, it would be the source of a considerable 
and certain revenue. As it is, little or nothing finds its way 
into the treasury after the expenses of the concern are paid. — 
(Cosas de Mejico.) 

The cigars of Queretaro are of a peculiar shape, about three 
inches long, and square at both ends. To one accustomed to the 
tobacco of the Havana the pungent flavour of the Queretaro cigars 
is at first disagreeable, but in a short time the taste acquired for 
this peculiar raciness renders all other tobacco insipid and taste- 
less. Excellent pulque is made here; and a beverage called 
colinche^ expressed from the juice of the tuna (fruit of the prickly 
pear), I tasted for the first time. It is of a blood-red colour, but 
of sharp and pleasant flavour. 

As we were now in the land (par excellence) of pulque, the 
drink of thirsty angels, a short description of this truly national 
liquor and its manufacture w 7 ill not be out of place. The ma- 
guey, American aloe — Agave Americana — is cultivated over an 
extent of country embracing 50,000 square miles. In the city 
of Mexico alone the consumption of pulque amounts to the 
enormous quantity of eleven millions of gallons per annum, and a 
considerable revenue from its sale is derived by government. 
The plant attains maturity in a period varying from eight to 
fourteen years, when it flowers ; and it is during the stage of 
inflorescence only that the saccharine juice is extracted. The 
central stem which encloses the incipient flower is then cut off 
near the bottom, and a cavity or basin is discovered, over which 
the surrounding leaves are drawn close and tied. Into this re- 
servoir the juice distils, which otherwise would have risen to 
nourish and support the flower. It is removed three or four 
times during the twenty -four hours, yielding a quantity of liquor 
varying from a quart to a gallon and a half. 

The juice is extracted by means of a syphon. made of a species 
of gourd called acojote, one end of which is placed in the liquor, 
the other in the mouth of a person, who by suction draws up the 
fluid into the pipe and deposits it in the bowls he has with him 



chap, ix] PULQUE-xMAKING— SOAP CURRENCY. 59 

fur the purpose. It is then placed in earthen jars, and a little 
old pulque — maclre de pulque — is added, when it soon ferments, 
and is immediately ready for use. The fermentation occupies two 
or three days, and when it ceases the pulque is in fine order. 

Old pulque has a slightly unpleasant odour, which heathens have 
likened to the smell of putrid meat; but, when fresh, is brisk 
and sparkling, and the most cooling, refreshing, and delicious 
drink that ever was invented for thirsty mortal ; and when glid- 
ing 1 down the dust-dried throat of a wavworn traveller, who feels 
the grateful liquor distilling through his veins, is indeed the 
" licor divino," which Mexicans assert, is preferred by the angels 
in heaven to ruby wine. 

To return to Queretaro. As we entered the town by the 
garita, in a desague, or small canal, which ran by the side of and 
in the very street, were a bevy of women and girls " in the garb 
of Eve," and in open day, tumbling and splashing in the water, 
enjoying themselves like ducks in a puddle. They were in no 
degree disconcerted by the gaze of the passengers who walked at 
the edge of the canal, but laughed and joked in perfect inno- 
cence, and unconsciousness of perpetrating an impropriety. The 
passers-by appeared to take it as a matter of course, but we 
strangers, struck with the singularity of the scene, involuntarily 
reined in our horses at the edge of the water and allowed them 
to drink, during which we w r ere attacked by the swarthy naiads 
with laughing and splashing, and shouts of " Ay que sin ver- 
guenzas !" — what shameless rogues ! " Echa-les, muchachas !" — 
at them, girls ; splash the rascals ! — and into our faces came 
showers of water, until, drenched to the skin, we were glad to 
beat a retreat. 

TTe found the town full of troops en route to San Luis Potosi, 
and had great difficulty in finding a corral for our animals : our- 
selves we were fain to stow away in a loft above the corral, where, 
amongst soldiers and arrieros, we passed a flea and bug ridden 
night. 

There was nothing eatable in the house, and we sallied out to 
the stall of a tortillera in the market-place, where we took a 
standing supper of frijoles and chile as usual. On presenting a 
silver dollar in payment, I received eight cakes of soap in change 
— current coin of Queretaro. 



60 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. ix. 

" Valgame Dios !" I exclaimed as the saponaceous medium was 
piled into my sombrero. 

" Virgen Purissima ! Ave Maria !" returned the unmoved tor- 
tillera ; " y javon el mas blando" — and the softest of soap too — 
she added, as I eyed the curious currency. " Vaya." 

I had intended to remain a day or two in Queretaro,* but 
the town was so crowded with soldiers of the " liberating army," 
and the accommodation for man and beast at the mesones was so 
execrable, that I determined to proceed at once. 

The next morning, the 19th, our lazy mozos, having indulged 
too freely in pulque the night before, did not make their appear- 
ance until 5 a.m. : we therefore made a late start, and were still 
further delayed by our animals, accustomed to start in the dark, 
taking it into their heads to explore the town, and persisting in 
turning down every street but the right one. 

Between Queretaro and Celaya the geological features of the 
country undergo a change, limestone taking the place of the 
primary and volcanic rocks over which we had till now been 
passing. We appeared also to be gradually, but perceptibly, de- 
scending from the high table-lands, and the climate became 
warmer and more tropical. The plains are exceedingly beauti- 
ful, teeming with fertility, and better cultivated. The gardens 
and maize-patches of the small Indian villages are enclosed with 
hedges, or rather walls, of organo, a species of single, square- 
stemmed cactus, which grows to the height of forty and fifty feet. 
It is called organo on account of its resemblance to the pipes of 
an organ. Planted close together, the walls of organo are im- 
pervious to pigs and poultry, and form admirable corrals to the 
Indian huts. Here the houses are built of uncemented lime- 
stones, piled loosely one on the other, and are sometimes roofed 
with talc. The road was flooded and impassable, and we were 
obliged to wade for many miles through a lagune, which was 
very distressing to the animals. The mules frequently sank so 
deep into the mud that we were obliged to unload the packs be- 
fore they could extricate themselves. 

During the day we passed through " El Paseo," a comical 
little place in the midst of the mud, and surrounded by planta- 
tions of magueyes. The houses were all without windows, and 
* Distance from San Juan del Rio to Queretaro, forty miles. 



chap, ix.] PULQUE AND TUNAS— CELAYA. 61 

the inhabitants, mostly Indians, appeared to have no other 
occupation than making pulque and drinking it. At a house 
where the usual sign of a maguey -leaf hung at the door, I had a 
most delicious draught of pulque, fresh from the plant, sparkling 
and effervescent as champagne, and fifty times more grateful. 
Magueyes and nopalos* now lined the road, the latter loaded 
with fruit. The Indians gather it with long sticks with a fork 
at one end, in which they secure the tuna.f Near every village, 
and sometimes at great distances, are seen women and girls under 
a tree, with enormous piles of this refreshing fruit prepared for 
the mouth by the removal of the prickles. I have seen our 
mozos attack a pyramid of tunas three feet high, and demolish it 
before I smoked out a cigar. The fruit is full of juice, and is 
said to be very wholesome and nourishing. I invariably carried 
a knife and fork in my holsters, and, travelling along, without 
stopping would make a thrust with my fork at some tempting 
tuna which overhung the road, and thus quench my thirst in the 
absence of pulque. The colinche made from the juice of the 
tuna is also very agreeable. 

"VYe entered Celaya by a handsome bridge over the Lerma. 
Inscribed on a stone let into the parapet is a notice to travellers, 
that the good people of Celaya erected this bridge " por el bene- 
ficio de los viageros" — for the benefit of the wayfarer, — which 
fact they take care shall not be forgotten. Like all Mexican 
towns, Celaya is full of churches and leperos, and a conspicuous 
object is the large collecturia, a building where the tithes of 
corn and fruits belonging to the Church are kept. In most vil- 
lages the collecturia stands side by side with the iglesia, and is 
invariably the larger building of the two. 

The Carmelite church is an imposing structure of mixed 
architecture, with Corinthian and Ionic columns. The interior 
is sombre and gloomy, but enriched with a great quantity of gold 
and silver ornaments. 

The trade of the town consists in the manufacture of saddles, 
bridles, and articles of leather required for the road. Popula- 
tion about 7000. Grain of all kinds is most prolific and abun- 

* On a prickly pear I observed a growth of misletoe (? orchis) with a 
superb crimson flower. 

f Fruit of the prickly pear. 



62 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. ix. 

dant in the plains of Celaya, and horses ai:d mules are bred in 
considerable numbers. The distance from Queretaro is thirty- 
seven miles. 

20th. — Leaving Celaya, we passed over a wild and but partially 
cultivated country, leaving Salamanca on the left. Hares of 
very large size, and tame as dogs, abound on these plains, and 
our march to-day was enlivened by an incessant popping of car- 
bines and rifles. In one patch of mezquit, a thorny shrub very 
common on the plains, I counted seventy hares in a little glade 
not one hundred yards square, and they were jumping out of the 
grass at every step of our animals. We breakfasted at a little 
Indian village called La Xuage, in the comical-looking church 
of which a grand funcion was in progress, and whilst our meal 
was in preparation we strolled to the iglesia to see what was going 
on. The priest, equipped in full uniform, was engaged before 
the altar praying with open book, and at particular passages gave 
a signal with his hand behind his back, when half a score of 
Indian boys outside immediately exploded a number of squibs 
and fire wheels, and a bevy of adult Indians fired off their rusty 
escopetas, the congregation shouting vociferously. At the time 
when one of the salvos should have taken place, and a huge 
trabuco fired off, which was fastened for safety to the door of the 
church, the padre rushed out in the middle of his discourse and 
clapped a match to the bunghole, giving a most severe look at the 
neglectful bombardier, and, banging off the blunderbuss, returned 
book in hand to the altar, where he resumed his discourse. 

The farther we advanced from Mexico the more curious became 
the provincials in examining " los estrangeros " and their equip- 
ments. Our hostess in La Xuage, after she had served the eg-g-s 
and frijoles, rushed to all her female acquaintance with the news 
that two strangers were in her house, and " por Dios " that they 
should come and see the giiero. As a " guero" I was an object of 
particular attention. I was examined from head to foot, and the 
hostess took upon herself to show me off as a jockey would a 
horse. My hair was exposed to their wonder and admiration ; 
and " mire" added my exhibitor, taking me by the moustache, 
" mire sus bigotes, son giieros tambien " — and do look here, 
if his bigotes are not giieros too. " Yalgame Dios !" 

Nothing excited the curiosity and admiration of the men so 



chap, ix.] CURIOSITY OF NATIVES-TEMASCATEO. 63 



much as the sight of my arms. My double rifle, and servant's 
double-barrelled short carbine and pistols, were handled, and 
almost worshipped, " Armas tan bonitas" they had never seen. 
With such weapons, they all agreed, neither Indian nor Texan, 
nor el demonio himself, was to be feared. One old Indian, who 
told me he had served against all the enemies of the republic, 
was incredulous when they told him that the guns were double. 
Half blind, he thrust his fingers into the muzzles, and, assured of 
the fact, muttered, " Ave Maria ! dos-tiros, dos-tiros ! Valgame 
Dios! dos-tiros, dos-tiros; dos tiros, dos-balas. Jesus Maria! 
dos tiros !" — all which exclamations hinged upon the extraordinary 
fact of a gun possessing two barrels and two balls. 

After a long journey of nearly fifty miles through an unin- 
teresting country, we arrived at the solitary rancho of Temas- 
cateo, standing alone in a large uninhabited plain, which bears 
the reputation of being infested with robbers, and " muy mala 
gente" from the towns of Celaya, Salamanca, and Silao. 

Mine host of Temascate'o was the beau-ideal of a ventero. 
Fat and pulque lined, his heavy head, with large fishy eyes, almost 
sank into his body, his neck, albeit of stout proportion, being 
inadequate to support its enormous burden. Concealed from his 
sight behind the sensible horizon of a capacious paunch, a pair of 
short and elephantine legs shook beneath their load. The stolid 
heavy look of this mountain of meat was inexpressible. Sitting 
outside the house in a chair, with a paper cigar in his mouth, he 
directed the issue of the fodder ; his wife, a bustling, busy dame, 
almost as unwieldy as her spouse, doing the talking part of the 
business. The only words which appeared able to force their 
way through his adipose larynx were " Si, sen-or ; No, sen-or," 
from the bottom of his stomach. After supper I paid the worthy 
couple a visit, and, presenting mine host with a real Havana, it 
threw him into such a state of excitement and delight that I 
expected to see him either burst, or subside in an apoplectic fit. 

" Dios mio, Dios mio !" he grunted ; " a puro all the way from 
Havana !" turning it in his hands and kissing it with affection. 
His wife was called to see it. Was there ever such a beauty of 
a puro ? He had not smoked one such for thirty years. Asking 
me all the news of the war, he remarked that los Tejanos, as 
the Americans are called here, were very bad Indians and can- 



64 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. ix. 

nibals ; that it was horrible to think (,i such people taking the 
country. Much better, he said, if the English, who, he had 
heard, were a very strong and rich nation, with " muy poco 
desorden en su gobierno," — very little disorder in its govern- 
ment — were to take it ; and as England was " poco mas alia de 
Mejico" — only a little the other side of Mexico ; in fact, a neigh- 
bour — it would not be so bad. 

A room in the rancho, as is often the case, was fitted up as a 
little chapel, with a figure of San Miguel, " imagen muy hermosa 
y bien pintada " — a very beautiful and well-painted image, they 
told me ; and as this happened to be a " dia de fiesta," or feast-day, 
afuncion was to be held at nine o'clock in honour of the saint, to 
which I was duly invited, but declined on the plea of fatigue 
and sleepiness. 

I was roused at midnight by our host, who came to inform me 
that a band of robbers had just left the house, where they had 
stopped for a dram, and, after inquiring about my party, had 
proceeded on the road to Silao. He said he knew them to be 
muy mala gente, and warned me to be on my guard, even that 
very night, and in the house, " as who knows," he said, " but they 
may return and murder us all ?" However, I was too sleepy to 
watch, and, merely putting another pair of pistols within my 
blanket, I was soon in the land of dreams, w r here not even a 
ladron disturbed me. The next morning one of my mules was 
found to be so ill that she was unable to carry her pack ; and 
another, belonging to my friend the Spaniard, had given out 
entirely, and was lying in the corral unable to rise. Her shoes 
were taken off, and she was left in the hands of the mesonero. 
My sick mule (she had a bad fistula in the shoulder, which broke 
out the day after I left Mexico) was relieved by one which I 
hired at the rancho to carry the pack as far as Silao, where I 
intended to purchase two or three more. 



chap, x.] MULES— SORE BACKS. 65 



CHAPTER X. 

To Silao — Treatment of Mules — Purchase a Pair — Their Characters — 
Silao Slopsellers— Fruit-women — Fruit — Leperos — Washerwomen — Sin 
Vergiienzas — Silao — Its Population — Productions — Jalisco — Its Fertility 
and Advantages — The Plains of Silao — Communication with the Pacific 
— Silao to La Villa de Leon — Arrieros — Leon — Vicious Population — A 
" Scrape " — A Cuchillada — Clear out — Volcanic Sierra — Tabular Moun- 
tains — Roadside Breakfast — Lagos — Dia de Fiesta — The Road Travellers 
— Street Bathing — Pedlers — Gambling Booths — Singing Women — Po- 
pular Song — The Soldier's Courtship — Lagos to La Villa de la Encarna- 
cion — Broken Bridge — Adobe Houses — Lagos — Resembles Timbuctoo — 
Church-Organ — Polka — Leperos — Mutilated Object — A pleasant Bed- 
fellow. 

2lst. — We left the rancho late, as we had only twenty-four 
miles to travel ; and moreover we wished to have our little affair 
with the robbers (which was expected) in broad daylight, and, 
passing through a fertile but uncultivated plain, reached Silao in 
the middle of the day. 

In Silao I spent the greater part of the day in hunting up and 
down the town for mules ; and, although hundreds were brought 
to me, there was scarcely one that was not more or less wounded 
by pack-saddles. It is no uncommon thing to see mules so lace- 
rated by the chafings of the aparejos, that the rib-bones are 
plainly discernible, and in this state the poor animal is worked 
without intermission. With proper care an animal may perform 
the longest journeys under a pack without injury. Although 
the Mexicans are from childhood conversant with the manage- 
ment of mules, it is astonishing what palpable errors they commit 
in the care of their beasts. The consequences of their system 
were very manifest in our journey to Durango. My companion 
allowed his mozos to treat his animals according to their system, 
whereas mine were subject to an entirely different one, from 
which I never permitted the servants to deviate. 

On coming in after a journey of forty miles, performed for 



66 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. x. 

the most part under a burning sun, my companion's animals were 
immediately stripped of their saddles, and frequently of large 
portions of their skin at the same time : they were then in- 
stantly taken to water, and permitted to fill themselves at discre- 
tion. Mine, on the other hand, remained with loosened girths 
until they were nearly cool, and were allowed to drink but little 
at first, although on the road they drank when water presented 
itself. Before reaching Durango the advantages of the two 
systems were apparent. The Spaniard lost three mules which 
died on the road, and all his remaining horses and mules were 
actually putrefying with sores. My animals arrived at Durango 
fat and strong, and without a scratch, and performed the journey 
to Santa Fe in New Mexico, a distance of nearly two thousand 
miles by the road I took, in fifty -six days, and with ease and 
comfort. 

After rejecting a hundred at least which were brought for my 
inspection, I purchased a tronco — a pair — of Californian mules, 
than which no better ever carried saddle or aparejo. This pair, 
with the two horses I brought with me from Mexico, were the 
most perfectly enduring animals I ever travelled with. No day 
was too long, no work too hard, no food too coarse for them. 
One of the mules, which, from her docility and good temper, I 
promoted to be my hunting-mule, was a short, stumpy animal, 
with a very large head and long flapping ears. Many a deer 
and antelope I killed off her back ; and, when hunting, I had 
only to dismount and throw down the lariat on the ground, and 
she would remain motionless for hours until I returned. These 
mules became so attached to my horse Panchito, that it was 
nearly impossible to separate them ; and they would follow me 
like dogs when mounted on his back. They both crossed the 
grand prairies with me to the Missouri ; and when compelled to 
part them from poor Panchito, I thought their hearts would 
have broken. 

In the meson of Silao we were literally besieged by represent- 
atives from every shop in the town, who poured upon us, offering 
their wares for sale, and every imaginable article required for 
" the road." This is the custom in all the towns, and shows the 
scarcity of regular custom. No sooner does a stranger enter a 
meson than to it flock venders of saddles, bridles, bits, spurs, 



chap, x.] TRADESMEN AND BEGGARS. C7 

whips, alforjas, sarapes for yourself, rebosos for your ladye-love, 
sashes, sombreros, boots, silks, and velvets (cotton), and goods 
of every kind that the town affords. Besides these, Indian 
women and girls arrive with baskets of fruit — oranges, lemons, 
grapes, chirimoyas, batatas, platanos, plantains, camotes, gra- 
naditas, mamayes, tunas, pears, apples, and fruit of every de- 
scription. Pulque and colinche sellers are not wanting, all 
extolling their goods and pressing them on the unfortunate tra- 
veller at the same moment, while leperos whine and pray for 
alms, and lavanderas for your clothes to wash, the whole uniting 
in such a Babel-like din as outbeggars description. Kid your- 
self of these, and gangs of a more respectable class throng the 
door for the express purpose of staring ; and this is a most ill- 
bred characteristic of Mexican manners, and one of the greatest 
of the many annoyances which beset a traveller. Silao is noto- 
rious for its population of thieves and robbers, who, it is the 
boast of the place, are unequalled in audacity as well as dex- 
terity. I saw a striking instance of this. A man entered the 
corral of the meson^ and unblushingly offered for sale a pair of 
wax candles which he had just stolen from a church, boasting of 
the deed to his worthy companions, who quite approved the feat. 

Silao is on the borders of the departments of Guanaxuato and 
Jalisco, and contains about 5000 inhabitants. The plains in the 
vicinity produce abundantly wheat, maize, frijoles, barley, &c> 
and the soil is admirably adapted for the growth of cotton, 
tobacco, and cochineal. 

We were now perceptibly, but very gradually, decreasing our 
elevation, and the increased temperature was daily becoming 
more manifest. Jalisco, which we were now entering, belongs 
to the tierra caliente, where all tropical productions might be 
cultivated, but are not. It is on the western declivity of the 
Cordillera of Anahuac, which may be said to connect the Andes 
of South and Central America with the great chain of the Rocky 
Mountains. Jalisco has equal if not greater advantages, in point 
of soil, climate, and communication with the coast, than any 
other section of Mexico. The table-land on the western ridge 
of the Cordillera is exceedingly fertile and enjoys a temperate 
climate. Here are situated the populous towns of Silao, Leon, 
Lagos, and Aguas Calientes, in the midst of a most productive 

f 2 



68 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. *. 

champaign. The central portion, of a less elevation and conse- 
quently more tropical temperature, which produces cotton, 
cochineal, and vanilla, as well as every variety of cereal pro- 
duce, contains a population for the most part engaged in mines 
and manufactures. This port has a communication with the 
Pacific coast by means of the Rio de Santiago or Tololotlan, 
which flows from the great lake of Chapala, and on which the 
important city of Guadalaxara is situated, with a population of 
23.000 or 25,000. The regions near the coast are teeming with 
fertility, and covered with magnificent forests ; but unfortunately 
the vomito here holds its dreaded sway, and the climate is fatal 
to strangers, and indeed to the inhabitants themselves. 

22nd. — From Silao to La Villa de Leon the eye looks in vain 
for signs of cultivation. On these vast plains day after day we 
meet no other travellers than the arrieros with their atajos of 
mules from Durango, Zacatecas, and Fresnillo. These pic- 
turesque cavalcades we always hailed with pleasure, as they 
were generally the bearers of news, 7iovedades, from Durango, 
of Indian attacks and of bands of robbers they had met on the 
road, which intelligence always put us on the qui vive, and 
made our mozos look very blue. Leon is own brother to Silao, 
and rivals that town in its celebrity as being prolific in robbers 
and assassins. Grain of every kind is here very abundant and 
of excellent quality. 

I had a little affair at Leon which was nearly proving dis- 
agreeable to me, and I have no doubt was anything but pleasant 
to one of the parties concerned. I had been strolling about 
nine o'clock in the evening through the plaza, which at that 
time presents a lively scene, the stalls of the market-people 
being lighted by fires which are made for that purpose in the 
square, and which throw their flickering light on the picturesque 
dresses of the peasantry who attend the market as buyers or 
sellers, and the still more lively garb of the idle loungers who, 
wrapped in showy sarapes and cigarros in mouth, loaf at that 
hour along the streets. Returning from the plaza through a 
dark narrow street, I was detected as a stranger by a knot of 
idle rascals standing at the door of a pulque-shop, who imme- 
diately saluted me with cries of " Texano, Texano, que meura," 
— let's kill him, the Yankee dog. Wishing to avoid a ren- 



chap, x.] A SCRAPE— A CUCHILLADA. C9 

contre with such odds, and w ith no other means of defence than 
a bowie-knife, I thought on this occasion that discretion would 
be much the better part of valour, so I turned off into another 
dark street, but was instantly pursued by the crowd, who fol- 
lowed yelling at my heels. Luckily an opportune and dark 
doorway offered me a shelter, and I crouched in it as my pur- 
suers passed with loud cries and knives in hand. The instant 
that they all, as I imagined, had passed me, I emerged from m}' 
hiding-place, and ran almost into the very arms of three who 
were bringing up the rear. " Hi esta, hi esta !" they shouted, 
baring their knives and rushing at me. " Maten le, maten le !" 
— here he is, here he is: kill him, kill the jackass. The dark- 
ness was in my favour. As the foremost one rushed at me with 
uplifted blade I stepped quickly to one side, and at the same 
moment thrust at him with my knife. He stumbled forward 
on his knees with a cry of " Dios ! me ha matado" — he has 
killed me — and fell on his face. One of the remaining two ran 
to his assistance, the other made towards me ; but, finding that 
I was inclined to compare notes with him and waited his attack, 
he slackened his pace and declined the encounter. I returned 
to the meson, and, without telling the Spaniard what had oc- 
curred, gave directions for the animals to be ready at midnight, 
and shortly after we were in the saddle and on our road. 

23rd. — From Leon the road ascends a sierra, from the top of 
which is a magnificent view of the plains of Silao. The mule- 
path by which we descended is rough and dangerous, and we had 
to wait on the summit of the sierra until day dawned before we 
could with safety undertake the descent. The whole country 
exhibits traces of a volcanic origin ; pumice and lava strew the 
ground, and the sierras are broken into tabular masses of a 
singular regularity of outline. One isolated mountain rises ab- 
ruptly from the plain, and resembles the Table-mountain of the 
Cape of Good Hope in the general form and regularity of its 
summit. This tabular form is a characteristic feature in the 
landscape of these volcanic regions : it is called mesa, table, by 
the Mexicans. Lagos lies at the foot of another sierra, with a 
lake in the distance., and seen from this elevation the prospect 
is very beautiful. Far from any habitation, we came upon an 
old woman sitting under a rock by the roadside, with numerous 



70 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. x. 

ollas simmering in the ashes of a fire, containing frijoles and 
chile, and here we stopped for our usual breakfast. 

It was a " dia de fiesta," and when we entered Lagos we found 
the population in great excitement, as on the morrow a " funcion 
de toros," a bull-fight, was to take place, and the " feria," an- 
nual fair, commenced that very night. 

The rancheros with their wives and daughters were pouring 
into the town from far and near, and we had met on the road 
many families on their way to the fair, forming a very pic- 
turesque cavalcade. First the ranchero himself, the pater fami- 
lias, in glossy sombrero with its gold or silver rolls, calzoneras 
glittering with many buttons, and snow-white drawers of Turkish 
dimensions, mounted on a showy horse gaily caparisoned, and 
bearing on its croup the smiling, smirking dame in span-new 
reboso and red or yellow enagua. Next a horse-load or two of 
muchachitas, their brown faces peeping from the reboso, showing 
their black eyes and white teeth, as, shining with anticipated 
delight of the morrow's festivities, and in a state of perfect 
happiness and enjoyment, they return their acknowledgments to 
the compliments of the passing caballeros. These, in all the glory 
of Mexican dandyism, armed with scopeta and machete (sword), 
and the ever-ready lasso hanging from the saddle-bow, escorted 
the party, caracolling along on their prancing steeds. 

The diques — streams which run through the streets — were full 
of women and girls undergoing preparatory ablution, and dress- 
ing their long black hair with various unguents at the side of 
the water. Pedlers were passing from house to house offering 
for sale gaudy ornaments to the women, earrings of gold and 
silver and coloured glass, beads of coral and shell from Cali- 
fornia, amulets and love-charms from the capital, indulgences 
for peccadilloes committed on the morrow, and suitable for the 
occasion, the which were in great demand. 

In the plaza were numerous gambling-booths, where banks or 
gold, silver, and copper suited the pockets of every class. Here 
resorted the wealthy haciendado with his rouleaus of onzas, the 
ranchero with his silver pesos, and the lepero with his copper 
clacos. In one of a middle class, where pesetas were the lowest 
stake, were congregated a mixture of all classes. The table 
covered with green cloth displayed tempting lines of gold and 



chap, x.] CANTADORAS. 71 

silver, surrounded by eager faces. Six women at one end of the 
room were singing national songs, and occasionally a winner 
threw them a silver coin, or a loser, for good luck, chucked a 
peseta over his shoulder to the same destination. Some of the 
airs were very pretty, although the words were generally pure 
nonsense. A song which described the courtship of a Mexican 
beauty by a soldier of Guadalaxara was repeatedly encored. 
Its chorus was the concluding words of the indignant beautv to 
the presumptuous suitor, and his meek reply : — 

" Soy Mejicana 
De este pais. 
Yo, un sol dado 
Soy infeliz." 

i( A Mexican girl 

Of this country am I. 
And I a poor soldier, — 
Woe is me V 

In conclusion, after the aspiring muchacha had run through a 
long list of the sacrifices she would make if she listened to the 
suit of the poor soldier, the lover draws a glowing picture of 
the delights of a barrack life, the constant change of scene, and 
its advantages over the monotonous existence of a rancheria. 
He offers her rebosos of Puebla and enaguas of Potosi, the most 
retired corner in the quartel, and assures her that all his " bona 
robas" shall be discarded for her sake. This part put me in 
mind of the beautiful ballad of Zorilla, in which the Moorish 
knight woos the Christian lady with glowing descriptions of the 
presents he would make her, of his castle in Granada, with its 
beautiful gardens, &c. : — 

" Y si mi Sultana eres, 

Que desiertos mis salones, 
Esta mi harem sin mugeres, 

Mis oidos sin canciones. 
Yo te dare terciopelos, 

Y perfumes orientales. 
De Grecia te traere velos, 

De Cachemira chales. 
Y te dare blancas plumas 

Para que adornes tu frente, 
Mas blancas que las espumas 

De nuestro mar del oriente. 



ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. x. 



Y perlas para el cabello ; 

Y banos para el calor ; 
Collares para el cuello, 

Por tus labios : Amor/* 

and describes his brown fortress in the plains of Xenil, which 
will be queen amongst a thousand when it encloses the beautiful 
Christian : — 

" Que sera reina entre mil, 
Cuando encierre tu belleza." 

But with the Mexican muchacha, as with the Christian lady, 
the rebosos of Puebla, the enaguas of Potosi, or even the re- 
tired corner in the barrack-room, have as little effect as the 
velvets and perfumes of the East, the veils brought from Greece, 
the Cashmere shawls, and the grey fortress in Grenada, had with 
the fair lady, who valued more her towers of Leon than the 
Moor's Grenada : — 

" Que mis torres de Leon 
Valen mas que tu Grenada." 

" My Leon towers I doubly prize, 
Than all the plains of thy Grenada." 

24th. — "We left Lagos for La Villa de la Encarnacion, through 
a barren and uninteresting country, destitute of trees, and the 
vegetation sparse and burned up. The road was up and down 
sierras the whole day, scattered with nopalo and prickly pear ; 
the heat tremendous, and the sun's rays, reverberated from the 
rocky sierra, fiery and scorching. We crossed a river which 
washes the walls of the town, by a ford on the right of a ruined 
bridge, destroyed during the War of Independence, and never 
rebuilt. This town was the first I saw in which all the houses 
were of adobes (sunburnt bricks). It exactly resembled the 
sketch of Timbuctoo as given in Rene Caille's book, and its 
appearance, as might be expected, was miserable in the extreme. 
As we passed the quaint-looking church, with its bells swung 
high in air, the organ was playing a crashing polka — a funcion 
at the time being in progress inside, and groups of leperos 
kneeling in the enclosed space in front. 

Amongst the beggars, who as usual attended our levee on 
arrival, was a lepero without even the rudiments of legs, who 
dragged himself along the ground on his stomach like a serpent, 



chai\ x.] A PLEASANT BEDFELLOW. 



and had a breastplate of leather for the purpose of protecting his 
body from the rough stones over which he crawled. This dis- 
gusting wretch took up his position in the corral, and, as it cost 
him no little labour to crawl thus far, seemed determined to 
sicken us out of a coin. The night was so hot and close that I 
placed my blanket in the balcon which ran round the rooms, 
which in this meson were above the stables, and ascended by 
wooden steps. Being very tired, I had turned in early, and was 
in a pleasant doze, when I imagined I heard a dog which belonged 
to my companion, and which had on leathern shoes to protect its 
feet, scraping or scratching near me. Thinking the animal, 
which was a great favourite, wanted to lie down on my blanket, 
I called to it to come and lie down, saying, " Yen aca, povrecito, 
ven aca" (Come here, poor fellow, come here). I immediately 
felt something at my side, and, lazily opening my eyes, what was 
my intense horror and disgust at seeing the legless lepero crawl- 
ing on my bed ! Human nature could not stand it. " Maldito !" 
I roared out, " afuera !" and, gathering up my leg, kicked him 
from me. I did not recover from my disgust until I saw the 
wretch crawling across the corral and out of the gate. He had 
come to beg or steal ; and, of course imagining from my words 
.that I was charitably inviting him to share my blanket, was thus 
unceremoniously ejected from the balcony.* 

* From Lagos to La Encarnacion, forty miles. 



ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xi. 



CHAPTER XI. 

To Aguas Calientes — Meet a Pic-nic Party— Gallantry of the Caballeros 
— They beat a Retreat — Aguas Calientes — Patriotic Column — Hacienda 
of La Punta — Plains of La Punta — Picos Largos — Horse died from Fa- 
tigue — To Zacatecas — Abandoned Copper-mines — Indian Treasure-hunter 
— Zacatecas — Mines — Deposits of Soda — Novedades — Los Indios — 
Zacatecas to Fresnillo — Audacity of Robbers — Fresnillo— Its Mines — 
Government Greediness — Hacienda de Beneficios — Employe's of the Mines, 
&c.— A Mexican Trader — Fresnillo to Zaina— Indian District— Forti- 
fied Haciendas — A " Spill w — Zaina — Sombrerete — Wild Country — The 
Mai Pais, or Volcanic Region — Wild Scenery — Bad Roads — The Ha- 
cienda of San Nicolas — Enormous Estates — Frighten the Ladies — Vol- 
canic Formations — Molten Lava — La Punta — Indian Road — Massacre of 
the Rancheros — The Ranchera's Story — The National Game of Colea de 
Toros — Bull Tailing — The Game of the Cock — Poverty of the Rancho — 
Road to Durango — Inundated Plains — Gruyas and Wild Geese — Arrive 
at Durango — Mountain of Malleable Iron — &c. 

2oth. — To Aguas Calientes, a very pretty town, with some 
handsome buildings. We met a gipsying or pic-nic party on 
the road, mounted on borricos, with a mule packed with comes- 
tibles. A bevy of very pretty girls brought up the rear, under 
the escort of half-a-dozen exquisites of the town, got up in the 
latest fashion of the capital. Their monopoly of such a fair troop 
was not to be borne, and with tolerable impudence we stopped 
the party. The dandies, from our sunburnt and road -stained 
appearance and bristling arms, at once set us down as robbers, 
and without more ado turned their donkeys and retreated, leaving 
us masters of the field and the fair. With them our peace was 
soon made, and we received a pressing invitation to join the party, 
which, however, we were fain to decline, as our horses were sorely 
tired. They laughed heartily at the panic of their gallant escort, 
who were huddled together at a little distance, not knowing 
whether to advance or retreat. I sent my mozo to them to say 
that the ladies required their presence ; and we rode on to the 
town, where we found our mulada arrived and waiting our 
approach. 



chap, xi.] AGUAS CALIENTE&-ZACATECAS. 75 

In Aguas Calientes I was accosted by a negro, a runaway slave 
from the United States. He informed me he was cook at the 
house where the diligencia stopped, and that if I chose he would 
prepare a dinner for us, — roast-beef, &c, and all the "fixings" 
of an American feed. I gladly made the bargain, and proceeded 
to the house at the time appointed, but found the rascal had never 
been there, and dinner there was none. 

In the plaza is a column erected to some patriot or another, 
which is pointed out to the stranger as being muy jino. The 
pedestal is surmounted by geese with long claws like an eagle's, 
and hairy heads of dogs stick out of the sides. The most absurd 
thing I ever saw. 

25th. — To the hacienda of La Punta, in a large plain where 
are several other plantations, and two rancherias celebrated as 
being the abode of a band of robbers called " picos largos," long- 
bills. In this day's journey of forty miles one of the horses died 
from fatigue and heat, and two others were scarcely able to finish 
the day's journey. 

26th. — To Zacatecas, through wild uncultivated plains and 
sierras. On the road we passed some abandoned copper-mines, 
where an old Indian was picking for stray pieces of ore, of which 
a dream had promised the discovery. 

Zacatecas, a populous city of between 30,000 and 40,000 
inhabitants, is in the midst of one of the most valuable mining 
districts in Mexico. The country round it is wild and barren, 
but the rugged sierras teem with the precious metals. Near the 
town are several lakes or lagunes, which abound in muriate and 
carbonate of soda. The town itself is mean and badly built, 
the streets narrow and dirty, and the population bear a very bad 
character ; which indeed is the case in all the mining-towns in 
the country, which is but natural from the very nature of their 
employment.* 

From this point the " novedades " poured upon us daily : 
" Los Indios ! los Indios !" was the theme of every conversation. 
Thus early (it was a very early Indian season this year and the 
last) they had made their appearance in the immediate vicinity 
of Durango, killing the paisanos, and laying waste the haciendas 
and ranchos; and it was supposed they would penetrate even 
* From Hacienda de la Punta to Zacatecas, fifty miles. 



76 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xi. 



farther into the interior. What a " cosa de Mejico " is this fact ! 
Five hundred savages depopulating a soi-disant civilised country, 
and with impunity ! 

27th. — The road from Zacatecas to Fresnillo lies through a 
wild uncultivated country without inhabitants. We met a con- 
ducta from the mines of Fresnillo, bearing bars of silver to the 
mint at Zacatecas. The waggon in which it was carried was 
drawn by six mules galloping at their utmost speed. Eight or 
ten men, with muskets between their knees, sat in the wag-ofon, 
facing outwards, and as many more galloped alongside, armed to 
the teeth. Bands of robbers, three or four hundred strong, have 
been known to attack conductas from the mines, even when 
escorted by soldiers, engaging them in a regular stand-up fight. 

Fresnillo is a paltry dirty town, with the neighbouring sierra 
honeycombed with mines, which are rich and yield considerable 
profits. A share which the government had in these mines yielded 
an annual revenue of nearly half a million of dollars ; but that 
short-sighted vampire, which sucks the blood of poor Mexico, 
eager to possess all the golden eggs at once, sold its interest for 
less than one year's income. Cosa de Mejico, here as every- 
where ! 

We were here very kindly invited to take up our abode, 
during our stay, in the hacienda of the mines ; the administrador 
of which is an American, and the officers mostly Spaniards. 
Enjoying their hospitality, we spent two or three days very 
pleasantly, and were initiated into all the mysteries of mining. 
The process of extracting the metal from the ore is curious in 
the extreme, but its description would require more science than 
I possess, and more space than I am able to afford. Two thou- 
sand mules are at daily work in the hacienda de beneficios, and 
2500 men are employed in the mines. From this an idea may be 
formed of the magnitude of the works. The main shaft is 1200 
feet in depth, and a huge engine is constantly employed removing 
water from the mines. This vast mass of machinery appeared 
to take care of itself, for I saw neither engineers nor others in 
the engine-house. There are many Cornishmen employed in 
the mines, who drink and fight considerably, but withal find time 
to perform double as much work as the Mexicans. The patio 
or yard of the hacienda de beneficios, where the porphyritic 



chap, xij MINERS— A MEXICAN OFFEK. 77 



crushing-mills are at work, contains 32,000 square yards. In 
undergoing one process, the crushed ore, mixed with copper and 
salt, is made into enormous mud puddings, and trodden out by 
mules, which are hack deep in the paste; indeed, the whole 
process of the beneficio, a purely chemical one, is most curious 
and worthy of attention. 

The miners are a most dissolute and vicious class of men, and 
frequently give great trouble to the officers of the hacienda. 
But for the firmness and presence of mind of the administrador, 
the American gentleman before alluded to, the miners on more 
than one occasion would probably have sacked the hacienda. 

The Cornishmen, however, can always be relied on, their 
only fault being the love of fighting and whisky ; and a depot 
of arms is kept in the hacienda ready for any emergency. 

On a bare rock, which was entirely destitute of soil, the 
miners have formed a most beautiful and productive garden, the 
soil with which it is made having been conveyed to the spot on 
the backs of mules and donkeys ; it is now luxuriant and thriving, 
although, I believe, but two years old, and is full of fruit-bearing 
trees of every description. In the centre is a fountain and orna-r 
mental summer-house, and, curiously enough, this garden is the 
resort of flocks of humming-birds, which are but rarely found 
on the neighbouring plains. 

On the road between Zacatecas and Fresnillo, as I was jogging 
gently on, a Mexican mounted on a handsome horse dashed up 
and reined in suddenly, doffing his sombrero and saluting me 
with a "Buenos dias, caballero" He had ridden from Zacatecas 
for the purpose of trading with me for my sword, which he said 
he had heard of in that town as being something muy fino. 
Riding up to my left side, and saying, " Con su licencia, caballero'' 9 
— by your leave, my lord — he drew the sword from its scabbard, 
and, flourishing it over his head, executed a neat demivolte to 
one side, and performed some most complicated manoeuvres. At 
first I thought it not unlikely that my friend might take it into 
his head to make off with the sword, as his fresh and powerful 
animal could easily have distanced my poor tired steed, so I just 
slipped the cover from the lock of my carbine, to be ready in 
case of need. But the Mexican, after concluding his exercise, 
and having tried the temper of the blade on a nepalo, rode up 



78 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xi. 



and returned the sword to its scabbard with a low bow, offering 
me at the same time his horse in exchange for it, and, when that 
was of no avail, another and another ; horses, he assured me, 
' "de la mejor sangre"— of the best blood of the country, and of 
great speed and strength. 

On the 30th we left Fresnillo, having a journey of nfty-nv<- 
miles before us to Zaina. The country is desolate and totally 
uncultivated, excepting here and there where a solitary hacienda 
or rancho is seen ; these are all fortified, for we were now 
entering the districts which are annually laid waste by the 
Comanches. The haciendas are all surrounded by walls, and 
flanked with towers loopholed for musketry. A man is always 
stationed on an eminence in the vicinity, mounted on a fleet 
horse, on the look-out for Indians; and on their approach a 
signal is given, and the peones, the labourers employed in the 
milpas, run with their families to the hacienda, and the gates are 
then closed and preparations made for defence. 

This morning I gave my horse Panchito a run, suelto, amongst 
the mules and loose animals, mounting Bayou Lobo, the tierra 
caliente horse which gave my mozo so severe a fall the day we 
left the capital. I had dismounted to tighten the girths a short 
time after leaving Fresnillo, and before daylight, when, on re- 
mounting, the animal as usual set off full gallop, and, being 
almost imprisoned in my sarape, which confined my arms and 
legs, in endeavouring to throw my right leg over the saddle I 
pitched over on the other side and fell upon the top of my head, 
at the same moment that the horse kicked out and struck with 
great force on my left ear. I lay in the road several hours per- 
fectly insensible ; my servant imagined I was dead, and, dragging 
me on one side, rode on to overtake the Spaniard. However, 
showing signs of life, they placed me again in the saddle, and I 
rode on for several hours in a state of unconsciousness. My jaw 
was knocked on one side, and when I recovered I had hard 
work to pull it into its former position : for days, however, I was 
unable to open it further than to admit a fork or a spoon ; and 
as I had to ride forty-five miles the same day that I met with 
the accident, and under a burning sun, I thought myself fortu- 
nate in not being disabLd altogether. 

Zaina is a very pretty little town surrounded with beautiful 



chap, xi.] SOMBRERETE— MAL PAIS. 79 

gardens. It is an isolated spot, and has little or no communica- 
tion with other towns. 

Oct. 1st. — To Sombrerete, distance thirty-four miles. The coun- 
try became wilder, with less fertile soil, and entirely depopulated, 
as much from fear of Indians as from its natural unproductive- 
ness. Sombrerete was once a mining-place of some importance, 
and the Casa de la Diputacion de Mineria, a large handsome 
building, is conspicuous in the town. The sierra is still worked, 
but the veins are not productive. The veta negra de Sombre- 
rete, the famous black vein of Sombrerete, yielded the greatest 
bonanzas* of any mine on the continent of America. It is now 
exhausted. 

2nd. — We left the usual road, and struck across the country 
to the hacienda de San Nicolas, as I was desirous of passing 
through the tract of country known as the Mai Pais, a most 
interesting volcanic region, a perfect terra incognita even 
to Mexicans ; and as to travellers, such rarae aves are as little 
known in these parts as in Timbuctoo. We journeyed through 
a perfect wilderness of sierra, and chapparal thickly covered with 
nopalos and mezquite, which now became the characteristic tree. 
The high rank grass was up to our horses' bellies, and, matted 
with the bushes of mezquite and prickly pear, was difficult to 
make our way through. Hares and rabbits, and javali, a species 
of wild hog, abounded, with quail and partridge, and many 
varieties of pigeons and doves. We passed on our left hand 
a curiously formed ridge, and a pyramidal hill which stood 
isolated in the plain, such as the ancient Mexicans made use of 
as pedestals for their temples, and which have been ingeniously 
described as artificial structures by writers on Mexican anti- 
quities. This day's journey was long and fatiguing, as we had 
to make our way for the most part across a trackless country, 
striking a mule-path only within about fifteen miles of the 
hacienda. Our animals were completely exhausted when we 
reached it, having performed nearly sixty miles during the day. 

The hacienda de San Nicolas is one of those enormous 
estates which abound in every part of Mexico, and which some- 
times contain sixty and eighty square miles of land. Of course 

* When a rich vein or lode is struck in a mine yielding a large quantity 
of ore, such a fortunate event is termed " bonanza." 



80 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xt. 



not a hundredth part is under cultivation ; but on some, im- 
mense herds of horses, mules, and cattle roam almost wild, or 
rather did roam, for the Indians have carried off incredible 
numbers. The hacienda itself is generally surrounded by the 
huts of the peones. The labourers who are employed on the 
plantation exist in a kind of serfdom to the owners, and their 
collection of adobe hovels forms almost a town of itself. The 
haciendados live in almost feudal state, having their hundreds 
of retainers, and their houses fortified to repel the attacks of 
Indians or other enemies. 

On riding up to the gate of the hacienda we surprised two of 
the senoritas in dishabille, smoking their cigarros of hoja — corn- 
shucks — on a stone bench in front of the house ; they instantly 
ran off like startled hares, so unexpected was the apparition of 
strange caballeros with a retinue of mozos, and, banging to the 
gate, reconnoitred us through the chinks. Nothing would 
induce them to reappear, so we withdrew, and sent one of the 
mozos on the forlorn hope of procuring admittance. With him 
they parleyed through the gate, and informed us, through him, 
that, as their padre was from home, they were unable to receive 
us within the castle, but that a stable was a la disposition de ios 
caballeros, and a quarto, used sometimes as a hen-house, and at 
others as a calf-pen, should be cleaned for their reception. 
With this we were fain to be content, and, as there was ample 
provision for our tired beasts, and a good corral, had no reason to 
complain, as sleeping in the air was no hardship in this climate. 

Presently, with the compliments of the ladies, an excellent 
supper made its appearance, comprising a guisado of hare, 
frijoles, eggs, &c, and a delicious salad prepared by the fair 
hands of the senoritas, and their regrets at the same time that 
the absence of their senor prevented them from having the 
pleasure of affording better accommodation. 

3rd. — Our road lay through the Mai Pais — the evil land (as 
volcanic regions are called by the Mexicans), which has the ap- 
pearance of having been, at a comparatively recent period, the 
theatre of volcanic convulsions of an extraordinary nature. The 
convexity of the disturbed region enables one to judge of the 
extent of the convulsion, which reaches from the central crater 
to a distance of twelve or fourteen miles. 



chap, xi.] MAL PAIS. 81 

The valley between two ridges or sierras is completely filled 
up to nearly a level with the sierra itself; it is therefore impos- 
sible to judge of the height of the tract of ground raised by the 
volcano. The crater is about five or six hundred yards in cir- 
cumference, and filled with a species of dwarf oak, mezquite, and 
cocoa trees, which grow out of the crevices of the lava. In it is 
a small stagnant lake, the water of which is green and brackish ; 
hu^e blocks of lava and scoria surround the lake, which is 
fringed with rank shrubs and cactus. It is a dismal, lonely spot, 
and the ground rumbles under the tread of the passing horse. 
A large crane stood with upraised leg on a rock in the pool, and 
ajavali was wallowing near it in the mud. Not a breath of air 
ruffled the inky surface of the lake, which lay as undisturbed as 
a sheet of glass, save where here and there a huge water-snake 
glided across with uplifted head, or a duck swam slowly out 
from the shadow of the shrub-covered margin, followed by its 
downy progeny. 

I led my horse down to the edge of the water, but he refused 
to drink the slimy liquid, in which frogs, efts, and reptiles of 
every kind were darting and diving. Many new and curious 
water-plants floated near the margin, and one, lotus-leaved, with 
small delicate tendrils, formed a kind of net-work on the water, 
with a superb crimson flower, which exhibited a beautiful contrast 
with the inky blackness of the pool. The Mexicans, as they 
passed this spot, crossed themselves reverently, and muttered an 
Ave Maria ; for in the lonely regions of the Mai Pais, the super- 
stitious Indian believes that demons and gnomes, and spirits of 
evil purposes have their dwelling-places, whence they not unfre- 
quently pounce upon the solitary traveller, and bear him into 
the cavernous bowels of the earth ; the arched roof of the prison- 
house resounding to the tread of their horses as they pass the 
dreaded spot, muttering rapidly their prayers, and handling their 
amulets and charms to keep off the treacherous bogles who in- 
visibly beset the path. 

The surrounding country is curiously disturbed, and the flow 
of the molten lava can easily be traced, with its undulations, and 
even retaining the exact form of the ripple as it flowed down 
from the crater. Hollow cones appear at intervals like gigantic 
petrified bubbles, and extend far into the plain. Some of these, 

G 



82 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xi. 

in shape like an inverted cup, are rent, and present large fissures, 
while others are broken in two, one half only remaining, which 
exhibit the thickness of the shell of basaltic lava to be only from 
one to three feet. 

We arrived at the rancho of La Punta in the afternoon, in 
time to witness the truly national sport of the colea de toros — 
in English, bull-tailing — for which some two or three hundred 
rancheros were assembled from the neighbouring plantations. 

This rancho, in the fall of last year, was visited by the 
Comanches, who killed several of the unfortunate peones, whom 
they caught in the road and at work in the milpas, and carried 
off all the stock belonging to the farm. On the spot where the 
rancheros were killed and scalped, crosses are erected, and the 
little piles of stones, which almost bury them, testify to the 
numerous Ave Marias and Pater Nosters which their friends 
have uttered when passing, in prayer for their souls in purgatory, 
and for each prayer have deposited at the foot of the cross the 
customary stone. 

Without warning, the Indians one day suddenly appeared on 
the sierra, and swooped down upon the rancho. The men im- 
mediately fled and concealed themselves, leaving the women and 
children to their fate. Those who were not carried away were 
violated, and some pierced with arrows and lances and left for 
dead. The ranchero's wife described to me the whole scene, 
and bitterly accused the men of cowardice in not defending the 
place. This woman, with two grown daughters and several 
smaller children, fled from the rancho before the Indians ap- 
proached, and concealed themselves under a wooden bridge 
which crossed a stream near at hand. Here they remained for 
some hours, half dead with terror : presently some Indians ap- 
proached their place of concealment : a young chief stood on 
the bridge and spoke some words to the others. All this time 
he had his piercing eyes bent upon their hiding-place, and had 
no doubt discovered them, but concealed his satisfaction under 
an appearance of indifference. He played with his victims. In 
broken Spanish they heard him express his hope " that he would 
be able to discover where the women were concealed — that he 
wanted a Mexican wife and some scalps." Suddenly he jumped 
from the bridge and thrust his lance under it with a savage 



chap, xi.] INDIAN ATTACK— COLEA DE TOROS. 83 



whoop ; the blade pierced the woman's arm and she shrieked 
with pain. One by one they were drawn from their retreat. 

" Diosde mi alma !" — what a moment was this ! — said the poor 
creature. Her children were surrounded by the savages, bran- 
dishing their tomahawks, and she thought their last hour was 
come. But they all escaped with life, and returned to find their 
house plundered, and the corses of friends and relations strewing 
the ground. 

" Ay de mi !" — what a day was this ! " Y los hombres," she 
continued, " qui no son hombres ?" — And the men — who are not 
men — where were they ? " Escondidos como los ratones" — hid- 
den in holes like the rats. "Mire /" she said, suddenly, and with 
great excitement : " look at these two hundred men, well mounted 
and armed, who are now so brave and fierce, running after the 
poor bulls ; if twenty Indians were to make their appearance, 
where would they be? Vaya, vaya!" she exclaimed; " son 
cobardes " — they are cowards all of them. 

The daughter, who sat at her mother's feet during the recital, 
as the scenes of that day were recalled to her memory, buried 
her face in her mother's lap, and wept with excitement. 

To return to the toros. In a large corral, at one end of which 
was a little building, erected for the accommodation of the lady 
spectators, were enclosed upwards of a hundred bulls. Round 
the corral were the horsemen, all dressed in the picturesque 
Mexican costume, examining the animals as they were driven to 
and fro in the enclosure, in order to make them wild for the 
sport — alzar el corage. The ranchero himself, and his sons, 
were riding amongst them, armed with long lances, separating 
from the herd, and driving into another enclosure, the most 
active bulls. When all was ready, the bars w r ere withdrawn 
from the entrance of the corral, and a bull driven out, who, see- 
ing the wide level plain before him, dashed off at the top of his 
speed. With a shout, the horsemen pursued the flying animal, 
who, hearing the uproar behind him, redoubled his speed. Each 
urges his horse to the utmost, and strives to take the lead and be 
the first to reach the bull. In such a crowd, of course, first-rate 
horsemanship is required to avoid accidents and secure a safe 
lead. For some minutes the troop ran on in a compact mass — a 
sheet could have covered the lot. Enveloped in a cloud of dust, 

g2 



84 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xi. 

nothing could be seen but the bull, some hundred yards ahead, 
and the rolling cloud. Presently, with a shout, a horseman 
emerged from the front rank ; the women cried " viva !" as, pass- 
ing close to the stage, he was recognised to be the son of the 
ranchera, a boy of twelve years of age, sitting his horse like a 
bird, and swaying from side to side as the bull doubled, and the 
cloud of dust concealed the animal from his view. " Viva 
Pepito ! viva !" shouted his mother, as she waved her reboso, to 
encourage the boy ; and the little fellow struck his spurs into 
nis horse, and doubled down to his work manfully. But now 
two others are running neck and neck with him, and the race 
for the lead, and the first throw, is most exciting. The men 
shout, the women wave their rebosos, and cry out their names : 
" Alza — Bernardo — por mi amor, Juan Maria — Viva Pepitito !" 
they scream in intense excitement. The boy at length loses the 
lead to a tall fine-looking Mexican, mounted on a fleet and 
powerful roan stallion, who gradually, but surely, forges ahead. 
At this moment the sharp eyes of little Pepe observed the bull 
to turn at an angle from his former course, which movement was 
hidden by the dust from the leading horseman. In an instant 
the boy took advantage of it, and, wheeling his horse at a right 
angle from his original course, cut off the bull. Shouts and 
vivas rent the air at sight of this skilful manoeuvre, and the 
boy, urging his horse with whip and spur, ranged up to the left 
quarter of the bull, bending down to seize the tail, and secure it 
under his right leg, for the purpose of throwing the animal to 
the ground. But here Pepe's strength failed him in a feat 
which requires great power of muscle, and in endeavouring to 
perform it he was jerked out of his saddle, and fell violently to 
the ground, stunned and senseless. At least a dozen horsemen 
were now striving hard for the post of honour, but the roan 
distanced them all, and its rider, stronger than Pepe, dashed up 
to the bull, threw his right leg over the tail, which he had 
seized in his right hand, and, wheeling his horse suddenly out- 
wards, upset the bull in the midst of his career, and the huge 
animal rolled over and over in the dust, bellowing with pain and 
fright. 

This exciting but dangerous sport exhibits the perfect horse- 
manship of the Mexicans to great advantage. Their firm yet 



chap, xi.] EL GALLO. 85 

graceful scat excels everything I have seen in the shape of riding, 
and the perfect command which they have over their horses 
renders them almost a part of the animals they ride. Their seat 
is quite different from the " park-riding " of Mexico. The sport 
of colea lasts as long as a bull remains in the corral, so that at 
the conclusion, as may be imagined, the horses are perfectly 
exhausted. 

Another equestrian game is " el gallo " — the cock. In this 
cruel sport, an unfortunate rooster is tied by the legs to a tree, 
or to a picket driven in the ground, with its head or neck well 
greased. The horsemen, starting together, strive to be the first 
to reach the bird, and, seizing it by the neck, to burst the thongs 
which secure it, and ride off with the prize. The well-greased 
neck generally slips through the fingers of the first who lay hold 
of it ; but, as soon as one is in possession, he rides off, pursued by 
the rest, whose object is to rescue the fowl. Of course in the 
contest which ensues the poor bird is torn to pieces ; the scraps 
of the body being presented by the fortunate possessors as a gage 
d" amour to their mistresses. 

The people in the rancho were so poor in comestibles, that 
w r e supped that night on beans and bread, and made our beds 
afterwards outside the door, where all night long continued such 
a clatter of women's tongues, such grunting of pigs, barking of 
curs, braying of borricos, &c, that I was unable to sleep until 
near morning, when, before daylight, we were again in our 
saddles. 

Oct. 4:th. — At daybreak we came to a river, which, in the 
absence of a ferry, we swam with all our animals, both packed 
and loose. We passed through aflat country, entirely inundated, 
and alive with geese and gruyas. The latter bird, of the crane 
species, is a characteristic feature in the landscape of this part of 
Mexico. The corn-fields are visited by large flocks, and, as they 
fly high in the air, their peculiar melancholy note is constantly 
heard, both in the day and night, booming over the plains. 

Durango, the metropolis of northern Mexico, is situated near 
the root of the Sierra Madre, at the north-western corner of a 
large plain, poorly cultivated and sparsedly inhabited. It is a 
picturesque city, with two or three large churches and some 
government buildings " fair to the eye but foul within," with a 



86 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xt 

population of 18,000, 17,000 of whom are rogues and rascals. 
Like all other Mexican cities, it is extremely dirty in the ex- 
terior, but the houses are clean and tidy within, always excepting 
government buildings. It is celebrated for its scorpions and bad 
pulque, and the enormous mass of malleable iron which rises 
isolated in the plain, about three miles from the town. This rock 
is supposed to be an aerolite, as its composition and physical 
character are identical with certain aerolites which fell in 1751 
in some part of Hungary, and analogous to the general character 
of others of the same nature, of which the aerolitic origin is 
equally certain and authenticated. It contains 75 per cent, of 
pure iron, according to the analysis of a Mexican chemist ; and 
some specimens, which Humboldt procured, were analysed by the 
celebrated Klaproth, with, I believe, the same result. 

Durango is distant from the city of Mexico 500 miles in a 
due course, or as the bird flies, but by the road must be upwards 
of 650; my reckoning makes it 665 — many miles, I have no 
doubt, too much or too little. Its elevation, according to 
Humboldt, is 6845 feet above the level of the sea, while that of 
Mexico is 7470, and La Villa de Leon 6027 feet ; thus show- 
ing that the table-land of Mexico does not decline so suddenly 
as is imagined. Indeed, excepting in the plains of Salamanca 
and Silao, there is no perceptible difference in the temperature, 
and I believe, in reality, but little of elevation, in the vast region 
between the capital and Chihuahua. 

Snow falls here occasionally, and the mercury is sometimes 
seen below the freezing point. For the greater part of the year, 
however, the heat is excessive, when a low intermittent fever is 
prevalent, but rarely fatal. 

Durango is the seat of a bishopric, and the worthy prelate 
lately undertook a journey to Santa Fe, in New Mexico, which 
progress created a furore amongst the devout ; and the good old 
man was glad to return with any hem to his garment, so great 
was the respect paid to him. That he escaped the Apaches and 
Comanches is attributed to a miracle : the unfaithful assign the 
glory to his numerous escort. — Quien sabe ? 

The City of Scorpions (as it is called) was in dread and expect- 
ation of an Indian invasion during my stay. Some five hundred 
Comanches were known to be in the vicinity towards the north- 



chap, xi.] DURANGO. 87 

east; so, after a fanfarron of several days, and high mass in the 
church for the repose of those who were going to be killed, &c, 
the troops and valientes of the city, with beating drums and 
flying colours, marched out to the south-west, and happened to 
miss " los barbaros." However, it saved them a sound drub- 
bing, and the country the valientes who would have been killed ; 
so the fatality was not much regretted, at least by the military, 
and the people by this time are accustomed to these " chances." — 
Cosas de Mejico. 

There is an English merchant in Durango, and one or two 
Germans and Americans. Their hospitality is unbounded. 
There is also a mint, the administrador of which is a German 
gentleman, who has likewise established a cotton-factory near the 
city, which is a profitable concern : y de mas (and moreover), las 
Durangiienas son muy halagiienas (the ladies of Durango are 
very pretty). 

I stayed in the house of the widow of a Gachupin, whose 
motherly kindness to me, and excellent cooking taught her by 
her defunct sposo, is one of the most pleasurable memorias I 
bear with me from Mexico, where a bastard and miserable 
imitation of the inimitable Spanish cuisine exists in all its de- 
formity. 



88 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xii. 



CHAPTER XII. 

A Hint to Travellers — Mode of Travelling in Mexico — Roughing it — 
Dangers of Travelling — Servants — Their Pay — Their Roguery — A 
Mexican Servant's Account — Ditto "taxed" and " cut down" — Re- 
spect to Englishmen — Passports and Letters of Security — Compadres 
and Commadres. 

Travelling in Mexico may be divided into two heads, viz. en 
grande (or en prince, as they say in France), or in the style of 
the hombre de jaqueta, which, however, although considered 
infra dig. in Spain, is, as far as the garment is concerned, the 
only correct costume for the road in Mexico. The wealthy 
haciendado of the tierra caliente rolls along in his carretela 
drawn by half a dozen mules, his lady in more luxurious littera, 
while the gentlemen and solteros of the family — the bachelors — 
prance at the sides of the litter, mounted on their Puebla hacks, 
and arrayed in all the glory of buttons and embroidery. 

If the object be to see the country, and become acquainted 
with the people and their manners and customs, the traveller 
should, in the first place, leave in charge of the steward of the 
royal mail steam-ship, at Vera Cruz or Tampico, his English 
reserve and prejudice in the pocket of his Tweed shooting-jacket ; 
all of which, together with his Lincoln and Ben net and cockney 
notions, he must at once discard before leaving the steamer. 
Then, having donned a broad-brimmed Panama and white linen 
roundabout, he may forthwith deliver his letter to his consignee, 
and make up his mind to the enjoyment of unbounded hospitality 
for as long as he pleases ; and the longer, the better pleased 
his entertainers : for here, it may be remarked, amongst the 
foreigners, the most genuine hospitality makes the stranger imme- 
diately at home, even in the city of the dreaded vomito. 

Here, if he has the good fortune to possess, at the bottom of 
an introductory epistle, the talismanic " open sesame " of Messrs. 
Coutts and Co., he will find that he has fallen on his legs indeed -, 



chap, xii.] DANGERS OF TRAVELLING. 89 

and at the casa of los seiiores M and M he will be put 

in the way of equipping himself for any mode of travelling", 
whether por diligencia, by dilly ; a caballo, on horseback ; or 
by lazy littera : in which last luxurious conveyance he can travel 
to Jalapa, and smoke and dream away his time, through the most 
picturesque scenery of the tierra caliente, which, of course, through 
the pendent curtains, he cannot get a glimpse of. 

If, too, Castillo, that prince of mozos, should happen, at the 
time of his departure, to have an inclination to visit his soft-eyed 
Jalapena, he may be as lucky as I was in securing his cicerone- 
ship as far as the " City of the Mist ;" whence to the capital the 
coach is the safest and surest mode of transit. 

From Mexico to the north, a large escort is necessary to pro- 
tect the traveller from the exactions of los caballeros del camino — 
the highwaymen ; and if the journey is continued still farther — 
towards the pole, a respectable force is absolutely indispensable, 
if he wish to arrive at his journey's end with the hair on the 
top of his head ; for my passage, sin novedad, through that tur- 
bulous country is to be attributed alone to extraordinary good 
fortune, and so sharp a look-out as to render the journey any- 
thing but a mere pleasure- trip. Indeed, the traveller in any 
part of Mexico must ever bear in mind the wholesome Yankee 
saying, " Keep your primin' dry, and your eye skinned." It is 
not even saying too much to advise those who have never served 
an apprenticeship of hard knocks, and who would find no little 
difficulty in adapting their fastidious cuerpos to the rough-and- 
tumble life they must necessarily lead, to confine their rambles 
to the well-steamered Rhine, or within the radius of the Messa- 
geries Royales and Lafitte's. 

It must be some time after the termination of the present war 
before the country will be fit to travel over; for woe to the 
luckless wight whose turnip complexion and hair of the carrot's 
hue proclaim him to be of Anglo-Saxon race, should he fall into 
the hands of a marauding party of disbanded soldiers ! and the 
present bitter feeling of hostility to foreigners must pass away, 
before it will be safe to show one's nose outside the gates of the 
larger cities. 

The usual mode of travelling long distances, by even the 
wealthiest of the male class, is invariably on horse or mule back, 



90 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. hi. 

several sumpter-mules being packed with the catre (bedstead), 
alforjas (saddle-bags), cantin (a portable canteen), bed, blankets, 
provisions, &c. ; whilst half a dozen servants — mozos — well 
mounted and armed, escort their lords and masters. The usual 
pay of these is one dollar a-day each, four shillings and a frac- 
tion of our money, with board wages of two rials — dos riales 
diarios por la comida — for which they always stipulate, saying 
that not even a lepero could live for less, a rial being equivalent 
to about sixpence. One of these is appointed captain, and to 
him is intrusted the payment of the road expenses, out of which, 
if he be " hombre de bien" i. e. an approved rascal, he manages 
to pouch another daily dollar, as perquisite for the confidence 
which he is supposed not to abuse. 

This capitan, or major-domo, if allowed to rob his master 
quietly and genteelly, is worthy of every trust, and will take 
especial care that his privilege is not trespassed upon by others ; 
therefore, says the proverb-loving Mexican, " Mas vale un ladron 
que viente picaros" — give me one honest robber before twenty 
rogues ; a distinction finely drawn upon the meaning of the 
terms. 

" Que comedor de maiz es aquel macho ! valgame Dios, que cabe 
mas que tresalmudas !" " What a corn-eater is that little mule," 
said my mozo to me one day; " Heaven save me, but he holds 
three almudas (about six pecks) at a bout ! He is the one to eat. 
Every day he eats the same. Oh ! what a macho is that !" 

Every traveller has his macho, who eats treble allowance, or 
rather who eats one ration, while the price of the two imaginary 
ones finds its way into the pocket of the mozo. 

The capitan is also invariably in league with the mesonero of 
the hostelry where you put up for the night ; and his recom- 
mendations of extra feeds rouse you, rolled in sarape, as, hat in 
hand, he stands at the door of the quarto, with mine host looking 
over his shoulder > saying, — 

" Yalgame, Don Jorge, que tengan mucha hambre las bestias ! 
ya se acabo la cena : quiere su merced que les echo mas maiz ?" 
— God save me, Mr. George, what hungry bellies the animals 
have to-night ! — they have already gobbled up their suppers : 
will your worship please that I give them some more corn? 
" Mariana tenemos Jornada muy largita, es preciso que comen 



chap, xii.] ROGUERY OF SERVANTS— A MOZO'S ACCOUNT. 91 

bien " — To-morrow we have a long little journey before us, and 
they had better eat plenty to-night. 

" Vaya ! maldito," cries the tormented amo ; " que comen mil 
fanegas si pueden !" — Go to the devil, and let them eat a thousand 
sacks if they can ! — and, covering his head with his sarape, soon 
snores, while his trustworthy mozo puts the price of two al- 
mudas in his pocket, and mine host the third for his share of the 
transaction. 

Thus it may be supposed that here the old adage is carried 
out which says that " con el ojo del amo se engorda el buey" — 
with the master's eye the steer is fattened ; and the traveller 
who loves to see his well- worked animals in good case, and dis- 
likes to draw his pursestrings every three or four days to pay for 
another and another fresh horse or mule, had better follow my 
practice, which was to put a puro in my mouth, take up a 
position on the manger, and watch that every measure was well 
filled, and eaten, before I paid attention to the wants of my own 
proper carcase, taking care to give but half the complement of 
corn at first, reserving the remainder for night, and in the in- 
terval seeing that all the beasts were led to water for the second 
time. 

Heaven help the wight who trusts a Mexican ! The following 
is the bill presented to me by my mozo the first and only time I 
ever trusted him with the office of paymaster ; and beneath is the 
amended or taxed bill, or rather the account of the night's ex- 
penditure as wrung from the unwilling mesonero after I had 
accused my worthy steward of peculation, and threatened sum- 
mary chastisement. The copy is verbatim : — 

tl Pago Jose Maria En el meson De la santisma vergen de guadalaxara Dos 
dias de comida Para El 4reales dos Fanegas de mais cuatro Pesos yotras 
dos 4 pesos entrada de nueve Bestias dos Por una tres Reales tres comidas 
por mi cabayero dos Pesos por mi cabayero otra 3 Riales tres riales otra 
otra tres por mi cabayero cinco quartios pulque por mi cabayero paja nueve 
riales un medio por pulque otro mismo quarto tres dias 6 riales quarto un 
dia 2 Riales otro 2 otro 2. 

todo dies y ocho Pesos, 
cinco riales." 
Translation, 
" Joseph the son of Maria paid in the meson of the holiest virgin of Gua- 
dalaxara two days board for himself 4 reals two fanegas of corn four Dol- 



92 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xii. 

lars and another 4 dollars entrance of nine Beasts two for one three Rials 
three dinners for my lord two dollars for my lord another three Rials 3 rials 
for another for my lord five quarts of pulque for my Lord straw nine rials 
a medio for pulque another Rial room three days 6 rials room one day 2 
Rials other 2 other 2 Total eighteen Dollars 

five rials. 18p. 5r." 

£ r. 

Servant's board for two days 4 

lj fanegas of corn 12 

My Lordship's chocolate and dinners for two days 1 

Pulque 3 

Straw for animals 4 

Hire of room 4 

Servant's ditto 4 

4 5 

Showing a difference of fourteen dollars on a bill of four, or 
eighteen shillings instead of 3/. 12s. 6d. So much for the 
honesty of u un hombre de bien " 1 

Either from ignorance of their duties or carelessness, Mexican 
officials seldom trouble the traveller with demanding his passport. 
It is as well, however, to adhere to the law, and invariably to 
present it in the larger towns, where it may be presumed the 
Alcalde can decipher the name and rubrica of the " ministro de 
las relaciones interiores." From the fact of so many English 
mining companies being dispersed throughout the country, whose 
wealth and respectable way of doing business are so apparent to 
the Mexicans, an Englishman is pretty sure to receive attention 
from the authorities wherever he goes, and a British passport is 
a sure and certain safeguard from the insolence and rapacity of 
Jacks-in-office, who have a wholesome dread of the far-reaching 
power of the " lion and unicorn " which head those vouchsafing 
documents. A carta de seguridad — letter of security — is also 
indispensable, by which the traveller's transit through the terri- 
tory of the republic is sanctioned for the space of one year, at 
the termination of which period it has to be renewed, on present- 
ation to the governor of the state in which he may happen to be. 
With custom-house regulations there is no inconvenience, a mere 
form being gone through of opening one package in entering 
the capitals of the different states, and an opportunely applied 
dollar will invariably smooth over any difficulty with regard to 



chap. xn.J COMPADRES AND COMMADRES— A REFERENCE. 93 

foreign tobacco, &c, or any of the creature-comforts in the shape 
of cognac or comestible luxuries, which the traveller will do well 
to carry with him. 

There is one axiom to be never lost sight of in journeying 
through Mexico. Carry everything with you that you can pos- 
sibly require on the road, the only limit being the length of your 
purse, on which will depend your means of conveyance. An 
European stomach should hardly trust to the country cuisine. 

In Northern Mexico and California a custom exists with both 
sexes of choosing a particular friend, seldom a relation, to whom 
the person attaches himself in a bond of strict friendship, con- 
fiding to his or her care all his hopes and fears, secrets, &c, and 
seldom severing the tie, which generally binds them together as 
long as life lasts. The compadre and commadre — literally god- 
father, godmother — are consulted on every occasion, when advice 
on the important subject of love is required, and a nice sense of 
honour restrains them from all betrayal of trust and confidence. 
They are likewise inseparable companions, and their purses and 
property are ever at each other's service. Ask a man to lend 
you his horse ; if not mounted on it himself, the chances are that 
he answers, " Lo tiene mi compadre" — my godfather has it. It 
must be confessed, however, that many peccadilloes are fathered on 
the compadre and commadre. To vouch for the correctness of 
some story a New Mexican is telling you, he adds, "Pues, si no 
cree su merced, pregunta a mi compadre" — well, since your 
worship does not believe it, only ask my godfather. 

" Me dixo mi commadre" — my godmother told me so — says a 
girl to guarantee a bit of scandal. Thus compadres and com- 
madres become a species of Mexican Mrs. Harris, who is appealed 
to on every occasion, and whose imaginary sagacity, profound 
wisdom, and personal beauty are on every occasion held up to the 
admiration of the credulous stranger. 

I mention this, here, because it very often happens that when, 
on hiring a servant, credentials or reference as to his character 
are demanded of him, he immediately requests you to apply to 
his compadre, who of course swears that his friend is everything 
that is good and honest: " Muy buen mozo, y hombre de bien." 



94 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xiii. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Comanche Attacks — A Tale of the Indian Frontier — El Coxo and his 
Sons — Escamilla — Juan Maria — Ysabel de la Cadena — A Jilt — Treachery 
of Escamilla — Affianced to Ysabel — Arrive at Hacienda for Marriage — 
Sudden Indian Attack — Cowardice of Escamilla — Death of Ysabel and 
Juan Maria — Indian Skirmish — Crosses and Piles of Stones. 

Some of the tales which were narrated to me of the bloody deeds 
of the Comanches were so affecting and tragical, that they would 
form admirable themes for the composition of a romance. I may- 
mention one, which was of very recent occurrence, and parti- 
cularly interested me, as I passed the very spot where the tragical 
catastrophe occurred. I give the outlines of the tale as it was told 
to me ; and any one in want of materials to work up an exciting 
melodrama may help themselves to it con mucha franqueza. 

In a rancho situated in the valley of the Rio Florido, and 
nearly half-way between the cities of Durango and Chihuahua, 
lived a family of hardy vaqueros, or cattle-herders, the head of 
which was a sturdy old sexagenarian, known as El Coxo (the 
Game Leg). He rejoiced in a " quiver well filled with arrows," 
since eight fine strapping sons hailed him padre ; than any one of 
whom not a ranchero in the tierra afuera could more dexterously 
colear a bull, or at the game of " gallo" tear from its stake the 
unhappy fowl, and bear it safe from the pursuit of competitors, 
but piecemeal, to the feet of his admiring lady-love. 

Of these eight mozos, he who bore away the palm of rancheral 
superiority, but still in a very slight degree, was the third son, 
and the handsomest (no little praise, where each and all laid 
claim to the title of " buen mozo y guapo"), by name Escamilla, 
a proper lad of twenty, five feet ten out of his zapatos, straight 
as an organo, and lithesome as a reed. He was, moreover, more 
polished than the others, having been schooled at Queretaro, 
a city, in the estimation of the people of the tierra afuera, 
second only to Mejico itself. 



chap, xiii.] AN INDIAN TALE. 95 



With his city breeding, he had of course imbibed a taste for 
dress, and quite dazzled the eyes of the neighbouring rancheras 
when, on his return to his paternal home, he made his first ap- 
pearance at a grand " funcion de toros " in all the elaborate finery 
of a Queretaro dandy. In this first passage of arms he greatly 
distinguished himself, having thrown three bulls by the tail with 
consummate adroitness, and won enthusiastic " vivas " from the 
muchachas, who graced with their presence the exciting sport. 

Close at the heels of Escamilla, and almost rivalling him in 
good looks and dexterity, came Juan Maria, his next and elder 
brother, who, indeed, in the eyes of the more practical vaqueros, 
far surpassed his brother in manliness of appearance, and equalled 
him in horsemanship, wanting alone that " brilliancy of execution " 
which the other had acquired in the inner provinces, and in 
practice against the wilder and more active bulls of the tierra 
caliente. 

Now Juan Maria, hitherto the first at el gallo and bull-tailing, 
had always laid the trophies of the sport at the feet of one 
Ysabel Mora, called, from the hacienda where she resided, 
Ysabel de la Cadena, a pretty black-eyed girl of sixteen, the 
toast of the valleys of Nazos and Rio Florido, and celebrated 
even by the cantadores at the last fair of el Valle de San Barto- 
lomo as " la moza mas guapa de la tierra afuera." It so hap- 
pened that the last year, Ysabel had made her first appearance at 
a public funcion ; and at this " gallo" she was wooed, and in a 
measure won, by the presentation of the remains of the gallant 
rooster at the hands of Juan Maria; who, his offering being well 
received, from that moment looked upon the pretty Ysabel as his 
corteja, or sweetheart ; and she, nothing loth at having the pro- 
perest lad of the valley at her feet, permitted his attentions, and 
apparently returned his love. 

To make, however, a long story short, the dandy Escamilla, 
who, too fine to work, had more time on his hands for courting, 
dishonourably supplanted his brother in the affections of Ysabel ; 
and as Juan Maria, too frank and noble-hearted to force his suit, 
at once gave way to his more favoured brother, the affair was 
concluded between the girl and Escamilla, and a day named for 
the marriage ceremony, which was to take place at the hacienda 
of the bride, where, in honour of the occasion, a grand funcion 



96 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &e. [chap. xiii. 

de toros was to be held, at which all the neighbours (the nearest 
of whom was forty miles distant) were to be present, including, 
of course, the stalwart sons of El Coxo, the brothers of the 
bridegroom. 

Two or three days before the one appointed for the marriage, 
the father with his eight sons made their appearance, their gal- 
lant figures, as mounted on stout Californian horses they entered 
the hacienda, exacting a buzz of admiration from the collected 
rancheros. 

The next day El Coxo, with all his sons excepting Escamilla, 
attended the master of the hacienda into the plains, for the pur- 
pose of driving in the bulls which were required for the morrow's 
sport, while the other rancheros remained to complete a large 
corral which was destined to secure them ; El Coxo and his sons 
being selected for the more arduous work of driving in the bulls, 
being the most expert and best-mounted horsemen of the whole 
neighbourhood. 

It was towards the close of day, and the sun was fast 
sinking behind the rugged crest of the " Bolson," tinging the 
serrated ridge of that isolated mountain-chain with a golden flood 
of light, while the mezquite-covered plain beneath lay cold and 
grey under the deep shadow of the sierra. The shrill pipe of the 
quail was heard, as it called together the bevy for the night ; 
hares limped out of the thick cover and sought their feeding- 
grounds ; overhead the melancholy cry of the gruyas sounded 
feebly in the aerial distance of their flight ; the lowing of cattle 
resounded from the banks of the arroyo, where the herdsmen 
were driving them to water ; the peones, or labourers of the farm, 
were quitting the milpas, and already seeking their homes, where, 
at the doors, the women with naked arms were pounding the 
tortillas on the stone metate, in preparation for the evening meal ; 
and the universal quiet, and the soft and subdued beams of the 
sinking sun, which shed a chastened light over the whole land- 
scape, proclaimed that the day was drawing to a close, and that man 
and beast were seeking the well-earned rest after their daily toil. 

The two lovers w r ere sauntering along, careless of the beauty 
of the scene and hour, and conscious of nothing save their own 
enraptured thoughts, and the aerial castles, which probably both 
were building, of future happiness and love. 



chap, xin.] A TALE OF THE INDIANS. 97 

As they strolled onward, a little cloud of dust arose from the 
chapparal in front of them ; and in the distance, but seemingly 
in another direction, they heard the shouts of the returning 
cowherds, and the thundering tread of the bulls they were driving 
to the corral. In advance of these was seen one horseman, 
trotting quickly on towards the hacienda. 

Nevertheless the cloud of dust before them rolled rapidly 
onwards, and presently several horsemen emerged from it, 
galloping towards them in the road. 

•• Here come the bullfighters," exclaimed the girl, withdrawing 
her waist from the encircling arm of Escamilla ; " let us return." 

" Perhaps they are my brothers," answ r ered he ; and con- 
tinued, " Yes, they are eight : look." 

But what saw the poor girl, as, with eyes almost starting from 
her head, and motionless with sudden fear, she directs her gaze 
at the approaching horsemen, who now, turning a bend in the 
chapparal, are within a few hundred yards of them ! 

Escamilla follows the direction of the gaze, and one look 
congeals the trembling coward. A band of Indians are upon 
them. Naked to the waist, and painted horribly for war, with 
brandished spears they rush on. Heedless of the helpless maid, 
and leaving her to her fate, the coward turned and fled, shouting 
as he ran the dreaded signal of " Los barbaros ! los barbaros !" 

A horseman met him — it was Juan Maria, who, having lassoed 
a little antelope on the plains, had ridden in advance of his 
brothers to present it to the false but unfortunate Ysabel. The 
exclamations of the frightened Escamilla, and one glance down 
the road, showed him the peril of the poor girl. Throwing down 
the animal he was carefully carrying in his arms, he dashed the 
spurs furiously into the sides of his horse, and rushed like the 
wind to the rescue. But already the savages were upon her, 
with a whoop of bloodthirsty joy. She, covering her face with 
her hands, shrieks to her old lover to save her : — ki Salva me, 
Juan Maria, por Dios, salva me !" At that moment the lance of 
the foremost Indian pierced her heart, and in another her reek- 
ing scalp was brandished exultingly aloft by the murderous 
savage. 

Shortlived, however, was his triumph : the clatter of a gallop- 
ing horse thunders over the ground, and causes him to turn his 

H 



98 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xiii. 

head. Almost bounding through the air, and in a cloud of dust, 
with ready lasso swinging round his head, Juan Maria flies, alas ! 
too late, to the rescue of the unhappy maiden. Straight upon 
the foremost Indian he charged, regardless of the flight of arrows 
with which he was received. The savage, terrified at the wild 
and fierce look of his antagonist, turns to fly ; but the open coil 
of the lasso whirls from the expert hand of the Mexican, and the 
noose falls over the Indian's head, and, as the thrower passes in 
his horse's stride, drags him heavily to the ground. 

But Juan Maria had fearful odds to contend against, and was 
unarmed, save by a small machete, or rusty sword. But with this 
he attacks the nearest Indian, and, succeeding in bringing him 
within reach of his arm, cleaves his head by a sturdy stroke, and 
the savage dropped dead from his horse. The others, keeping at 
a distance, assailed him with arrows, and already he was pierced 
with many bleeding wounds. Still the gallant fellow fights 
bravely against the odds, and is encouraged by the shouts of his 
father and brothers, who are galloping, with loud cries, to the 
rescue. At that moment an arrow, discharged at but a few 
paces' distance, buried itself to the feathers in his breast, and the 
brothers reach the spot but in time to see Juan Maria fall from 
his horse, and his bloody scalp borne away in triumph by a naked 
savage. 

The Indians at that moment were reinforced by a body of 
some thirty or forty others, and a fierce combat ensued between 
them and Coxo and his sons, who fought with desperate courage 
to avenge the murder of Juan Maria and the poor Ysabel. Half 
a dozen of the Comanches bit the dust, and two of the Mexicans 
lay bleeding on the ground ; but the rancheros, coming up from 
the hacienda in force, compelled the Indians to retreat, and, as 
night was coming on, they were not pursued. On the ground 
lay the still quivering body of the girl, and the two Indians near 
her who were killed by Juan Maria. One of them had his neck 
broken and his brains dashed out by being dragged over the sharp 
stones by the horse of the latter, the lasso being fa*t to the high 
pommel of the saddle. This Indian still held the long raven 
scalp-lock of the girl in his hand. Juan Maria was quite dead, 
and pierced with upv\ards of twenty bleeding wounds; two of 
his brothers were lying dangerously wounded; and six Indians, 



chap, xin.] A TALE OF THE INDIANS. 99 

besides the two killed by Juan Maria, fell by the avenging arms 
of El Coxo and his sons. The bodies of Ysabel and Juan Maria 
were borne by the ranch eros to the hacienda, and both were 
buried the next day side by side, at the very hour when the mar- 
riage was to have been performed. Escamilla, ashamed of his 
base cowardice, disappeared, and was not seen for some days, 
when he returned to his father's rancho, packed up his things, 
and returned to Queretaro, where he married shortly after. 

Just twelve months after the above tragical event occurred, I 
passed the spot. About three hundred yards from the gate of 
the hacienda were erected, side by side, two wooden crosses, 
roughly hewn out of a log of pine. On one, a rudely-cut in- 
scription, in Mexico-Castilian, invites the passer-by to bestow 

" Un Ave Maria y un Pater Noster 

Por el aJma de Ysabel Mora, 
Qui a los manos de los barbaros cayo muerta, 

El dia 11 de Octubre, el ano 1845, 
En la nor de su juventud y hermosiira." 

u One Ave Maria and a Pater Noster for the repose of the soul of 
Ysabel Mora, who fell by the hands of the barbarians on the 11th of Oc- 
tober of the year 1845, and in the flower of her youth and beauty." 

On the other — 

" Aqui yace Juan Maria Orteza, 

Vecino de , 

Matado por los barbaros, el dia 11 de Octubre, 

del ano 1845. 
Ora por el, Cristiano, por Dios.' , 

" Here lies Juan Maria Orteza, native of , killed by the barbarians 

on the llth of October, 1845. 

" Chribtian, for the sake of God, pray for his soul." 

The goodly piles of stones, to which I added my offering, at 
the feet of both crosses, testify that the invocation has not been 
neglected, and that many an Ave Maria and Pater Noster has 
been breathed, to release from purgatory the souls of Ysabel and 
Juan Maria. 



h 2 



100 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xiv. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Durango — State of the Province — Its Savage Enemies — The Apaches — Co- 
manches — Their Annual Invasion — Pusillanimity of Mexicans — Ruinous 
Depredations — Danger of Travelling — A Mozo Volunteer — A Glance 
at the State of Mexico — Causes of its Miserable Condition — Its Physical 
Disadvantages — The Character of the People — Unfitness for Republican 
Form of Government — Causes of Revolutions — Serfdom — Absence of Law 
and Freedom. 

The city of Durango* may be considered as the Ultima Thule of 
the civilised portion of Mexico. Beyond it, to the north and 
north-west, stretch away the vast uncultivated and unpeopled 
plains of Chihuahua, the Bolson de Mapimi, and the arid deserts 
of the Gila. In the oases of these, wild and hostile tribes of 
Indians have their dwelling-places, from which they continually 
descend upon the border settlements and haciendas, sweeping off 
the herds of horses and mules, and barbarously killing the un- 
armed peasantry. This warfare — if warfare it can be called, 
where the aggression and bloodshed are on one side only, and pas- 
sive endurance on the other — has existed from immemorial time ; 
and the wonder is that the country has not long since been aban- 
doned by the persecuted inhabitants, who at all seasons are sub- 
ject to their attacks. The Apaches, whose country borders upon 
the department of Durango, are untiring and incessant in their 
hostility against the whites; and, being near neighbours, are 
enabled to act with great rapidity and unawares against the 
haciendas and ranchos on the frontier. They are a treacherous 
and cowardly race of Indians, and seldom attack even the Mexi- 
cans save by treachery and ambuscade. When they have carried 
off a number of horses and mules sufficient for their present 
wants, they send a deputation to the governors of Durango and 
Chihuahua to express their anxiety for peace. This is invariably 

* The city was founded in 1559, by Velasco el Primero, Viceroy of New 
Spain, previous to which it was a presidio, or fortified post, to protect the 
frontier from the incursions of the Indiars (Chichimees). 



chap, xiv.] COMANCHES— THEIR ANNUAL INCURSIONS. 101 

granted them, and when en paz they resort to the frontier vil- 
lages, and even the capital of the department, for the purpose of 
trade and amusement. The animals they have stolen in Durango 
and Chihuahua they find a ready market for in New Mexico and 
Sonora; and this traffic is most unblushingly carried on, and 
countenanced by the authorities of the respective states. 

But the most formidable enemy, and most feared and dreaded 
by the inhabitants of Durango and Chihuahua, are the warlike 
Comanches, who, from their distant prairie country beyond the 
Del Norte and Eio Pecos, at certain seasons of the year, and 
annually, undertake regularly organised expeditions into these 
states, and frequently far into the interior (as last year to the 
vicinity of Sombrerete), for the purpose of procuring animals 
and slaves, carrying off the young boys and girls, and mas- 
sacring the adults in the most wholesale and barbarous manner. 

So regular are these expeditions, that in the Comanche calen- 
dar the month of September is known as the Mexico moon, as 
the other months are designated the buffalo moon, the young 
bear moon, the corn moon, &c. They generally invade the 
country in three different divisions, of from two to five hundred 
warriors in each. One, the most southern, passes the Rio Grande 
between the old presidios of San Juan and the mouth of the 
Pecos, and harries the fertile plains and wealthy haciendas of 
el Valle de San Bartolomo, the Rio Floriclo, San Jose del 
Parral, and the Rio Nasas. Every year their incursions extend 
farther into the interior, as the frontier haciendas become depo- 
pulated by their ravages, and the villages deserted and laid 
waste. For days together, in the Bolson de Mapimi, I traversed 
a country completely deserted on this account, passing through 
ruined villages untrodden for years by the foot of man. 

The central division enters between the Presidio del Norte 
and Monclova, where they join the party coming in from the 
north, and, passing the mountains of Mapimi and traversing a 
desert country destitute of water, where they suffer the greatest 
privations, ravage the valleys of Mapimi, Guajoquilla, and Chi- 
huahua, and even the haciendas at the foot of the Sierra Madre. 
It appears incredible that no steps are taken to protect the 
country from thi3 invasion, which does not take the inhabitants 
on a sudden or unawares, but at certain and regular seasons anl 



102 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xiv. 

from known points. Troops are certainly employed nominally 
to check the Indians, but very rarely attack them, although the 
Comanches give every opportunity ; and, thoroughly despising 
them, meet them on the open field, and with equal numbers 
almost invariably defeat the regular troops. The people them- 
selves are unable to offer any resistance, however well inclined 
they may be to do so, as it has always been the policy of the 
government to keep them unarmed ; and, being unacquainted 
with the use of weapons, when placed in their hands they have 
no confidence, and offer but a feeble resistance. So perfectly 
aware of this fact are the Comanches, that they never hesitate to 
attack superior numbers. When in small parties the Mexicans 
never resist, even if armed, but fall upon their knees and cry for 
mercy. Sometimes, however, goaded by the murder of their 
families and friends, the rancheros collect together, and, armed 
with bows and arrows and slings and stones, go out to meet the 
Indians (as occurred when I was passing), and are slaughtered 
like sheep. 

In the fall of last year, 1845, and at the present moment, 1846, 
the Indians have been more audacious than ever was known in 
previous years. It may be, that in the present instance they are 
rendered more daring by the knowledge of the war between the 
United States and Mexico, and the supposition that the troops 
would consequently be withdrawn from the scene of their opera- 
tions. They are now (September) overrunning the whole 
department of Durango and Chihuahua, have cut off all commu- 
nication, and defeated in two pitched battles the regular troops 
sent against them. Upwards of ten thousand head of horses and 
mules have already been carried off, and scarcely has a hacienda 
or rancho on the frontier been un visited, and everywhere the 
people have been killed or captured. The roads are impassable, 
all traffic is stopped, the ranchos barricaded, and the inhabitants 
afraid to venture out of their doors. The posts and expresses 
travel at night, avoiding the roads, and intelligence is brought in 
daily of massacres and harryings. 

My servants refused to proceed farther; nor will money 
induce a Durangueno to risk his scalp. Every one predicts cer- 
tain destruction if I venture to cross the plains to Chihuahua, as 
the road lies in the very midst of the scenes of the Indian 



chap, xiv.] DANGER OF PROCEEDING— A MOZO. 103 

ravages. My hostess, with tears in her eyes, implored me not 
to attempt the journey; but my mind was made up to proceed, 
and alone, if I could not induce a mozo to accompany me. I 
had resolved to reach New Mexico by a certain time, and in tra- 
velling through a dangerous country lay it down as a principle 
not to be deterred by risks, but to " go ahead/ 5 and trust to for- 
tune and a sharp look-out. 

I had made preparations for my departure, and had given up 
any hope of procuring a mozo, when, at the eleventh hour, one 
presented himself, in the person of one of the most rascally- 
looking natives that ever stuck knife into his master. Asking 
him what induced him to run the risk of accompanying me, he 
answered that, being " muy pobre" and unable to procure a living 
(the road was shut to him), and hearing that "su merced " — my 
worship — had offered high wages, he had determined to volun- 
teer ; being, moreover, as he assured me, " muy valiente y afi- 
cionado a manejar las armas " — very valiant and accustomed to 
the use of arms. The end of it was that I engaged him, although 
the man bore a notoriously bad character, and was more than 
suspected of being a ladron of the worst description. But it was 
Hobson's choice at the time, and I did not hesitate to take him, 
trusting to myself to take care that he did not play me false. I 
was, however, a little shaken when the same evening a man 
accosted me as I was walking in the streets with an English 
gentleman, a resident in Durango, and informed me that my 
new mozo was at that moment in a pulque-shop, where, after 
imbibing more than was good for him, he had confided to a 
friend, and in the hearing of the man who now gave the inform- 
ation, his intention to ease me of my goods and chattels and 
animals, premising that, as he had heard from my late servants 
that I intrusted my mozo with arms and generally rode in ad- 
vance, it would be an easy matter some fine morning to adminis- 
ter un pistoletazo en la espalda — a pistol -ball in my back — and 
make off with the property to Chihuahua or Soriora, where he 
would have no difficulty in disposing of the plunder. However, 
I paid no attention to this story, thinking that, if true, it was 
merely a drunken boast. 

As Durango may be called the limit of Mexico proper and its 
soi-disant civilization, it may not be out of place to take a hasty 



104 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xiv. 

glance at the general features of the country, the social and 
moral condition of the people, and the impressions conveyed to 
my mind in my journey through it. 

There are many causes, physical and moral, which prevent 
Mexico from progressing in prosperity and civilization. Al- 
though possessing a vast territory, which embraces all the 
varieties of climate of the temperate and torrid zones, with a 
rich and prolific soil capable of yielding every natural production 
of the known world, yet these natural advantages are counter- 
balanced by obstacles, which prevent their being as profitable to 
the inhabitants as might naturally be expected, and in a great 
measure render them negative and of no avail. 

A glance at the physical geography of Mexico will show that 
the extensive and fertile table-lands of the central region are 
isolated, and, as it were, cut off from communication with the 
coast, by their position on the ridge of the Cordilleras, and the 
insurmountable obstacles to a practicable traffic presented by 
the escarpments of the terraces, the steps, as it were, from the 
elevated table-lands to the maritime districts, and the tropical 
regions of the interior. The country is also destitute of navi- 
gable rivers, and possesses but two of even moderate size — the 
Rio Grande del Norte, which runs into the Gulf of Mexico, and 
the Rio Grande, or Colorado of the west, which falls into the 
Pacific Ocean. Its eastern coast is swept at certain seasons by 
fearful tempests, and presents not one sheltering harbour or 
secure roadstead. The tropical region, subject to fatal malaria, 
is almost excluded to the settlement of the white population, and 
consequently its natural riches are almost entirely neglected and 
unappropriated. Moreover, when we look at the component 
parts of the population of this vast country, we are at no loss to 
account for the existing evils — the total absence of government, 
and the universal demoralization and want of energy, moral and 
physical, which is everywhere apparent. 

The entire population is about eight millions, of which three- 
fifths are Indians, or of Indian origin, and Indios Bravos, or 
barbarous tribes ; the remainder of Spanish descent. This popu- 
lation is scattered over an area of 1,312,850 square miles, in 
departments widely separated, and having various and distinct 
interests, the intercommunication insecure, and a large propor- 



chap, xiv.] CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. 105 

tion in remote regions, beyond the care or thought of an impotent 
government. 

The vast table-land which stretches along the ridge of the Cor- 
dillera of Anahuac, although possessing tracts of great fertility, 
is not, in itself, the rich and productive region it is generally 
represented to be. The want of fuel and water must always pre- 
vent its being otherwise than thinly inhabited, and these great 
drawbacks to the population and cultivation of these districts 
would appear to be insurmountable. I believe the capabilities 
of the whole country to be much overrated, although its mineral 
wealth alone must always render it of great importance ; but it 
is a question whether the possession of mineral wealth conduces 
to the wellbeing of a country. The working of mines of the 
precious metal in Mexico, however, has certainly caused many 
spots to be cultivated and inhabited, which would otherwise have 
been left sterile and unproductive, and has been the means of 
giving employment to the Indians, and in some degree has 
partially civilized them, where otherwise they would have 
remained in their original state of barbarism and ignorance. 

The Mexicans, as a people, rank decidedly low in the scale of 
humanity. They are deficient in moral as well as physical 
organization : by the latter I do not mean to assert that they are 
wanting in corporeal qualities, although certainly inferior to 
most races in bodily strength ; but there is a deficiency in that 
respect which is invariably found attendant upon a low state of 
moral or intellectual organization. They are treacherous, cun- 
ning, indolent, and without energy, and cowardly by nature. 
Inherent, instinctive cowardice is rarely met with in any race of 
men. yet I affirm that in this instance it certainly exists, and is 
most conspicuous ; they possess at the same time that amount of 
brutish indifference to death which can be turned to good account 
in soldiers, and I believe, if properly led, that the Mexicans 
would on this account behave tolerably well in the field, but no 
more than tolerably. 

It is a matter of little astonishment to me that the country 
is in the state it is. It can never progress or become civilized 
until its present population is supplanted by a more energetic 
one. The present would-be republican form of government is 
not adapted to such a population as exists in Mexico, as is plainly 



106 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xiv. 

evident in the effects of the constantly recurring revolutions. 
Until a people can appreciate the great principles of civil and 
religious liberty, the advantages of free institutions are thrown 
away upon them. A long minority has to be passed through 
before this can be effected; and in this instance, before the 
requisite fitness can be attained, the country will probably have 
passed from the hands of its present owners to a more able and 
energetic race. On the subject of government I will not touch : 
I maintain that the Mexicans are incapable of ^//'-government, 
and will always be so until regenerated. The separation from 
Spain has been the ruin of the country, which, by the by, is 
quite ready to revert to its former owners ; and the prevailing 
feeling over the whole country inclines to the re-establishment 
of a monarchical system. The miserable anarchy which has 
existed since its separation, has sufficiently and bitterly proved to 
the people the inadequacy of the present one ; and the wonder is, 
that, with the large aristocratic party which so greatly prepon- 
derates in Mexico (the army and the church), this much- to-be- 
desired event has not been brought about. 

The cause of the two hundred and thirty -seven revolutions 
which, since the declaration of its independence, have that number 
of times turned the country upside down, has been individual 
ambition and lust of power. The intellectual power is in the 
hands of a few, and by this minority all the revolutions are 
effected. The army once gained over (which, by the aid of 
bribes and the priesthood, is an easy matter), the wished-for con- 
summation is at once brought about. It thus happens that, 
instead of a free republican form of government, the country is 
ruled by a most perfect military despotism. 

The population is divided into but two classes — the high and 
the low : there is no intermediate rank to connect the two 
extremes, and consequently the hiatus between them is deep and 
strongly marked. The relation subsisting between the peasantry 
and the wealthy haciendados, or landowners, is a species of 
serfdom, little better than slavery itself. Money, in advance of 
wages, is generally lent to the peon or labourer, who is by law 
bound to serve the lender, if required, until such time as the 
debt is repaid ; and as care is taken that this shall never happen, 
the debtor remains a bondsman to the day of his death. 



chap, xiv.] SERFDOM. 107 

Law or justice hardly exists in name even, and the ignorant 
peasantry, under the priestly thraldom which holds them in 
physical as well as moral bondage, have neither the energy nor 
courage to stand up for the amelioration of their condition, or 
the enjoyment of that liberty, which it is the theoretical boast of 
republican governments their system so largely deals in, but 
which, in reality, is a practical falsehood and delusion. 



108 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. {chap. xv. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Leave Durango — Salitrose Springs — Rancho of Los Sauces — A Pleasant 
Companion — Punishment for a Bad Shot — Sail ahead — Meet a Caravan 
— General Armijo — Antelope — A Law Case — Farmhouses — Encamp 
outside — Indian Alarm — Another Caravan — El Gallo — Indian " Sign " 
— A Scalp lost — Life in a Rancho — Traders. 

On the 10th I left Durango for Chihuahua and New Mexico, 
taking with me the mozo I have before mentioned as bearing 
anything but a good character. The first day's march led 
through a wild uncultivated country, with large plains of excel- 
lent pasture, but not a symptom of cultivation. We stopped at 
night at the hacienda of El Chorro, a little hamlet of adobe 
huts surrounding the casa grande of the plantation. As we 
arrived, the rancheros were driving in an immense cavalcade or 
herd of horses from the pastures, to be secured during the night 
in the corrals and near the hacienda, por las ?iovedades que hay — 
on account of the novelties (i e. Indians) which are abroad — as 
the proprietor informed me. The vicinity of the hacienda 
abounds in salitrose springs and deposits of muriate of soda, to 
which the horses and mules were constantly breaking away, and 
drinking the water, and licking the earth with the greatest 
avidity. Distance from Durango twenty-eight miles. 

Wth. — To the rancho of Los Sauces — the willows. The 
plains to-day were covered with cattle, and horses and mules. 
In the morning I was riding slowly ahead of my cavallada, 
passing at the time through a lonely mesquite-grove, when the 
sudden report of fire-arms, and the whistling of a bullet past 
my head at rather unpleasantly close quarters, caused me to 
turn sharply round, when I saw my amiable mozo with a pistol 
in his hand, some fifteen yards behind me, looking very guilty 
and foolish. To whip a pistol out of my holsters and ride up 
to him was the work of an instant ; and I was on the point of 



chap, xv.] PUNISHMENT FOR A BAD SHOT. 109 

blowing out his brains, when his terrified and absurdly guilty- 
looking face turned my ire into an immoderate fit of laughter. 

•• Amigo," I said to him, " do you call this being skilled in 
the use of arms, to miss my head at fifteen yards ?" 

" Ah, caballero ! in the name of all the saints I did not fire 
at you, but at a duck which was flying over the road. No lo 
cree su merced — your worship cannot believe I would do such 
a thing." Now it so happened, that the pistols, which I had 
given him to carry, were secured in a pair of holsters tightly 
buckled and strapped round his waist. It w r as a difficult matter 
to unbuckle them at any time ; and as to his having had time to 
get one out to fire at a duck flying over the road, it was impos- 
sible, even if such an idea had occurred to him. I was certain 
that the duck was a fable, invented when he had missed me, and, 
in order to save my ammunition, and my head from another 
sportsmanlike display, I halted and took from him everything in 
the shape of offensive weapon, not excepting his knife ; and 
wound up a sermon, which I deemed it necessary to give him, by 
administering a couple of dozen, well laid on with the buckle- 
end of my surcingle, at the same time giving him to understand, 
that if, hereafter, I had reason to suspect that he had even 
dreamed of another attempt upon my life, I would pistol him 
without a moment's hesitation. — Distance from El Chorro thirty- 
six miles. 

\2th. — To the rancho of Yerbaniz, through the same uncul- 
tivated plains, surrounded by sierras, and passing by a ridge from 
one into another, each being as like the other as twins. For a 
thousand miles the aspect of these plains never varied, and the 
sketch of the plain of Los Sauces would answer for the plain of 
El Paso, and every intermediate one between Durango and New 
Mexico. At daybreak this morning I descried three figures, 
evidently armed and mounted men, descending a ridge and ad- 
vancing towards me. As in this country to meet a living soul 
on the road is perhaps to meet an enemy thirsting for your pro- 
perty or your life, I stopped my animals, and, uncovering my 
rifle, rode on to reconnoitre. The strangers also halted on seeing 
me, and, again moving on when they saw me alone, we advanced, 
cautiously and prepared, towards each other. As they drew 
near I at once saw by the heavy rifle which each carried across 



110 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chat. xv. 

his saddle-bow that they were from New Mexico, and that one 
was a white man. He proved to be a German named Spiers, 
who was on his way to the fair of San Juan with a caravan of 
nearly forty waggons loaded with merchandise from the United 
States. He had left the frontier of Missouri in May, crossing 
the grand prairies to Santa Fe, and, learning that his American 
teamsters would not be permitted to enter Durango, he had 
ridden on in advance to obtain permission for their admittance. 
His waggons had been nearly six months on the road, travelling 
the whole time, and were now a few miles behind them. He 
gave a dismal account of the state of the country through which 
I was about to pass. The Comanches were everywhere, and 
two days before had killed two of his men ; and not a soul ven- 
tured out of his house in that part of the country. He likewise 
said it was impossible that I could reach Chihuahua alone, and 
arged me strongly to return. The runaway Governor of New 
Mexico, General Armijo, was travelling in company with his 
caravan, on his way to Mexico, to give an account of his shame- 
ful cowardice in surrendering Santa Fe to the Americans with- 
out a show of resistance. 

A little farther on I saw the long line of waggons, like ships 
at sea, crossing a plain before me. They were all drawn by 
teams of eight fine mules, and under the charge and escort of 
some thirty strapping young Missourians, each with a long 
heavy rifle across his saddle. I stopped and had a long chat 
with Armijo, who, a mountain of fat, rolled out of his American 
dearborn, and inquired the price of cotton goods in Durango, he 
having some seven waggon-loads with him, and also what they 
said, in Mexico, of the doings in Santa Fe, alluding to its cap- 
ture by the Americans without any resistance. I told him that 
there was but one opinion respecting it expressed all over the 
country — that General Armijo and the New Mexicans were a 
pack of arrant cowards ; to which he answered, " Adios ! They 
don't know that I had but 75 men to fight 3000. What could 
I do ?" Twenty-one of the teamsters belonging to this caravan 
had left it a few days previously, with the intention of returning 
to the United States by the way of Texas. What became of 
them will be presently narrated. 

After leaving the caravan I saw a herd of btrendos (antelope) 



chap, xv.] ANTELOPE— A LAW CASK. ill 

^ ^__^_^_________ 

in the plain, but was unable to get within shot, the ground being 
destitute of cover, and the animals very wild. We were now in 
the country of large game, deer and antelope being abundant in 
the plains, and bears occasionally met with in the sierras. 

This night I encamped near a rancho, being refused admit- 
tance into the building, and picqueted my animals around the 
camp. I had also a disagreement with an arriero, whom I had 
hired at Los Sauces, with his mule, to carry one of my packs, 
one of the mules being lame. He had agreed, for a certain sum, 
to travel with me two jornadas or days' journeys. In Mexican 
travelling there are two distinct jornadas — one of atajo, or the 
usual distance performed by arrieros ; the other de caballo, or 
journey performed on horseback, or with light packs, To pre- 
vent all misunderstanding, I had explicitly agreed with him for 
two of my own jornadas, or days' travel, of twelve leagues, or 
thirty-five miles, each day ; but when he heard that the Indians 
were so near at hand, he wanted to give up his contract, and claimed 
the full pay of two jornadas for the distance he had already come, 
which was thirty-six miles, affirming that it was two regular 
days' journeys of atajo. This I refused to pay him, offering 
the half of the stipulated sum, as he had performed but one 
day's journey. Blustering and threatening, off he went to the 
alcalde, for in all ranchos the head man is chief magistrate, who 
sent me a peremptory order to pay the demand in full ; to which 
I sent back an answer more energetic than polite, together with 
the sum I had originally offered, saying at the same time that 
if it was not accepted I would not pay a farthing. Presently I 
saw the alcalde, attended by a posse, sally from the gate of the 
rancho and approach my camp, where I was very busily engaged 
in cleaning my arms. Ko sooner was the worthy near enough 
to observe my employment, than he wheeled off suddenly and re- 
turned to the rancho, and I saw no more of him or the arriero. 

The ranchos and haciendas in Durango and Chihuahua are all 
enclosed by a high wall, flanked at the corners by circular bas- 
tions loopholed for musketry. The entrance is by a large gate, 
which is closed at night; and on the azotea, or flat roof of the 
building, a sentry is constantly ported clay and night. Round 
the corral are the dwellings of the peones ; the casa grande, or 
proprietor's house, being generally at one end, and occupying 



112 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, x v. 

one or more sides of the square. In this instance I was refused 
admittance into the enclosure — for what reason I do not know — 
and obliged to encamp about two hundred yards from it, having 
to pay for two or three logs of wood, with which I made a fire. 
The rancheria, however, bears a very bad character, as I after- 
wards learned ; and this night I had as much to dread from 
them and my rascally mozo as from the sudden attack of the 
Indians. My blanket was a little arsenal, as I had not only my 
own, but my servant's arms, to take care of. That worthy begged 
hard for a pistol or gun, saying that, if the Indians came, he 
would be killed like a dog. I told him to go into the rancho 
amongst his countrymen, which I believe he did, for I saw or 
heard nothing more of him during the night. 

13th. — To La Noria Perdizenia, forty miles ; the country get- 
ting more wild and desolate, and entirely destitute of water. Not 
a sign of habitation, or a human being on the road. We passed a 
gap between two sierras, called El Passage — the passage — which 
is wild and picturesque, the plains covered with mezquit, and a 
species of palm, called pabna. We were approaching the village 
of La Perdizenia a little before sunset, through a broken country, 
with hills and bluffs rising on each side of the road, when sud- 
denly, as I was riding in advance, I saw on one of these, which 
was some 500 or 600 yards from the road, a party of Indians, 
on horseback and on foot. I instantly stopped, and without 
saying a word, or pointing out the cause to the mozo, dis- 
mounted, and, catching the wildest mule, immediately tied her 
legs together with a riata, and covered the eyes of all with their 
tapojos or blinders. I then pointed with my finger to the hill, 
saying, " Mire, los Indios." 

" Ave Maria Purissima ! estamos perdidos " — we are lost ! — 
exclaimed the Mexican, and made towards his horse, from which 
he had also dismounted ; but this I prevented, telling him that he 
had to fight, and not run. Half dead with fright, he threw him- 
self on his knees, beseeching all the saints in the calendar to 
save him, and vowing offerings of all kinds if his life were 
spared. By this time the Indians, perceiving that there were 
but two of us, commenced descending the hill, leaving one or 
two of the party on the top as videttes. Seeing a fight was 
inevitable, I stuck my cleaning-rod into the ground as a rest for 



chap, xt.] INDIAN ALARM— LA NORIA PERDIZENIA. 113 



my rifle ; and, placing my carbine and pistols at my side, sat 
down to my work, intending to open upon them with my rifle as 
soon as they came within reach. However, this they did not 
seem inclined to do, but, striking their shields, and brandishing 
their bows, shouted to me to give up my animals and pass 
on. I kept my position for some time, but, finding they were 
not inclined to attack me, and not wishing to remain there 
when night was coming on, I unloosed the mules, and sent them 
forward with the mozo, remaining in rear myself to cover their 
retreat. Once in his saddle, invoking " todos los santos," 
off he galloped toward the village, driving the mules pell-mell 
before him ; nor did he stop until he was in the midst of the 
plaza, narrating to shrieking women, and all the population of 
the village, his miraculous escape. 

The reason of the Indians not charging upon us was, that they 
saw a party of Mexicans on their way to the village, from a 
mine in the sierra, who were concealed from our view, and 
thought, no doubt, that w r e might be able to defend ourselves 
until the noise of the firing would bring them to our assistance. 

When I arrived at La Noria I rode into the square, and found 
the inhabitants in the greatest alarm and dismay. They had been 
expecting the Indians for some days, as they had already com- 
mitted several atrocities in the neighbouring ranchos. The 
women were weeping and flying about in every direction, hiding 
their children and valuables, barricading the houses, and putting 
what few arms they could collect in the hands of the reluctant 
men. As I rode through the village seeking a corral for my 
animals, a woman ran out of a house and begged me to enter 
offering her stable, and corn, and straw for the beasts, and the 
best her house afforded for myself. I gladly accepted her hos- 
pitality, and followed her into a neat clean little house, with a 
corral full of fig-trees and grape-vines, and a large yard with a 
pond of water in the centre, and a stack of hoja at one end, pro- 
mising well for the comfort of the tired animals. 

" Ah !" she exclaimed on my entering ; <; gracios a Dios, I 
have some one to protect the lone widow and her fatherless 
children. If the savages come now, I don't care, since we have 
good arms in the house, and those 6 qui saben manejarlos' — who 
know how to use them." 



114 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chip. xv. 

After supper I visited the alcalde, and advised him to take 
some measures to oppose the Indians in case they attacked the 
place, as I had no doubt that the party which I had seen was 
but the advanced guard of a large body. 

" Ah, caballero," he answered, " que podemos hacer? — 
what can w r e do? We have no arms, and our people have no 
courage to use them if we had ; but, thank God ! the barbaros 
are ignorant of this, and will not attack the town ; for how do 
they know but what we have escopetas in every window ? These 
savages are very ignorant." 

The next morning I resumed my journey, much to the sur- 
prise of the people of La Noria, who looked upon us as lost ; 
and, crossing the Nasas beyond the hacienda of El Conejo (the 
rabbit), intended to go on some leagues farther, when I met 
some waggons belonging to a Frenchman of Chihuahua, and, as 
he was brimful of novedades, I returned and camped with them 
near the hacienda, to hear the news. The Comanches, he said, 
were in great force beyond the village of El Gallo, and were 
killing and slaying in every direction. They had, a few days 
before, attacked a company of bullfighters under a Gachupin 
named Bernardo, on their way to the fair of El Valle de San 
Bartolomo, killing seven of them and wounding all the others. 
They had also had a fight with the troops at the Rio Florido, 
killing seventeen and wounding many more. 

On the 16th I reached El Gallo (the cock), where the Indians 
three days before had killed two men belonging to Spiers' cara- 
van, within a hundred yards of the village. The road from El 
Conejo for forty miles passes through a most dismal country, and 
was crossed several times by the Indian trail. I had now to keep 
a sharp look-out, as there was no doubt that they were in the 
neighbourhood, and presently I had ocular proof of their recent 
presence. We were passing through a chaparral of mezquit, 
where the road passes near a point of rocks, on which were 
seated hundreds of sopilotes. About a dozen of these birds flew 
up from the side of the road, and, turning my horse to the spot, 
I found they had been collected on the dead body of a Mexican, 
partly stripped, and the breast displaying several ghastly wounds. 
The head had been scalped, and a broken arrow still remained bu- 
ried in the face, or rather what remained of it, for the eyes and part 



chap, xv.] LIFE IN A RANCHO. 115 



of the brain had been already picked out by the sopilotes, and a 
great part of the body devoured. Life did not appear to have 
been extinct many hours ; probably he had been killed the night 
before, as the birds had but that morning discovered the body. 
We had no means of digging a grave, and therefore were obliged 
to leave it as we found it ; and as soon as I had left the spot the 
sopilotes recommenced their revolting feast, 

I stayed at El Gallo in the house of a farmer who had lost 
three sons by the Indians within a few years. Two of their 
widows, young and handsome, were in the house, and he himself 
had been severely wounded by them on several occasions. Their 
corn was now ready for cutting, but they were afraid to venture 
outside the village, and procured enough for their daily con- 
sumption by collecting together all the villagers and proceeding 
to the fields in a body to bring in a supply. I remained here 
for two days, as one of my mules was seriously lame, during 
which time my chief occupation was sitting with the family, 
shelling corn, and platicando (chatting). In the evening a guitar 
was brought, and a fandango got up for my especial amusement. 
Some of the dances of the country people are not without grace, 
and with tolerable pantomimic action ; but the greatest charms 
are the extempore songs which accompany the music, and, being 
chanted to a low broken measure, are at the same time novel 
and pleasing to the ear. In a rancho the time is occupied in 
the following way. At daybreak the females of the family rise 
and prepare the chocolate or atole, which is eaten the first thing 
in the morning. Breakfast is usually taken about nine o'clock, 
consisting of meat prepared with chile Colorado, frijoles, and 
tortillas : dinner and supper, at midday and sunset, are likewise 
substantial meals. The gourd or pumpkin (calabaza) is much 
used in this part of Mexico, and is an excellent and wholesome 
vegetable. Between the meals the men employ themselves in 
the milpas, or attending to the animals ; the women busy them- 
selves about the house, making clothes, &c. &c, as with us ; 
but severe labour is unknown to either men or women. While 
here I assisted in the erection of two wooden crosses on the spot 
where Spiers' men were killed by the Comanches three days 
before. They had remained behind the caravan to bring some 

i2 



116 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xv. 

bread that was baking for the party, when just outside the town 
they were set upon by the Indians and killed. 

In Durango and the neighbouring state of Chihuahua, the 
rancherias are supplied with such simple goods as they require 
by small traders, resident in the capitals of these states, who 
trade from one village to another with two or three waggons, 
which, when their goods are sold, they freight with supplies for 
the cities or the mines. These traders are all foreigners — French, 
Germans, English, and Americans ; and their adventures and 
hairbreadth escapes, while passing through the country overrun 
by Indians, are often most singular and exciting. Their arrivals 
in the villages are always welcome, as then the muchachas make 
their purchases of rebosos and gay enaguas, and the " majos" 
their sarapes and sashes. 

The night before my departure from El Gallo, I was sitting 
in the corral " platicando," while all the family were busy as usual 
corn-shelling, when a loud voice was heard, a cracking of whips, 
and cries of wo-ha wo-ha-a wo-o-h-ha ! 

" Estrangeros ! " exclaimed one of the girls. 

" Los Tejanos ! " exclaimed another. 

" Los carros " (the waggons), said Don Jose, and I threw my 
sarape over my shoulder, and, proceeding to the open space 
in the centre of the village, dignified by the name of plaza, found 
four waggons just arrived, and the teamsters unhitching the 
mules. They proved to be the caravan of one Davy Workman, 
an Englishman by birth, but long resident in, and a citizen of, 
the United States ; a tall, hard-featured man, and most deter- 
mined in look, as he was known to be in character — un hombre 
muy bien conocido, as my patron informed me. By this arrival 
more novedades were brought, and los Indios ! los Indios ! were 
on everybody's tongue. 

SenoT Angel, my mozo, here openly rebelled, and refused to 
proceed farther ; but a promise of a few extra dollars at length 
induced him to agree to accompany me as far as Mapimi, sixty -five 
miles from El Gallo, and situated on what is called the frontier. 



chap, xvi.] DESERT ROAD. 11 



CHAPTER XVI. 

To Mapimi — Palmas — Desert Country — A Rattlesnake — Camp on Plain — 
Without Water — Lose Animals — Hunt — Disagreeable Surprise — Indians 
— Narrow Escape — Night March to El Galio — Excessive Thirst — Pro- 
found Darkness — Reach Cattle Wells — Animals Safe — La Cadena — 
Angel becomes valiant — Long Ride — Reach Mapimi — Bolsonde Mapimi — 
Hire a Servant — Advised not to proceed — Street Camp — Levee of Leperos 
— Pelados — Panchito's Tail eaten. 

Fkom El Gallo to Mapimi a mule-track leads the traveller 
through a most wild and broken country, perfectly deserted ; 
rugged sierras rising from the mezquit-covered plains, which are 
sterile and entirely destitute of water. A little out of the direct 
route is the hacienda de la Cadena, a solitary plantation standing 
in a dismal plain, the scene of constantly recurring Indian 
attacks ; for an arroyo or water-course which runs through it, 
and in which that necessary element is found at intervals in deep 
holes, is resorted to by the Indians, when on their way to the 
haciendas of the interior. 

I had resolved to pass through this part of the country, 
although far out of the beaten track, in order to visit El Eeal de 
Mapimi, a little town, near a sierra which is said to be very rich 
in ore ; and also for the purpose of travelling through a tract of 
country laid waste by the Comanches, and but little known, and 
which is designated, par excellence, " los desiertos de la frontera" — 
the deserts of the frontier ; not so much from its sterility, as on 
account of its having been abandoned by its inhabitants, from 
the fear of the perpetual Indian attacks, as it lay in their direct 
route to the interior. 

As sixty-five miles was rather a long journey for one day, I 
resolved to start late, and proceed some twenty or thirty miles 
and then encamp, although it would be necessary to remain that 
night without water. Leaving El Gallo about midday, I 
stopped at some cattle- wells a short distance from the village to 



118 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xvi. 



water the animals the last thing, and fill my own " Images" (a 
canteen made out of a gourd). The mules and horses, however, 
which unfortunately did not anticipate a scarcity at the end of 
their day's journey, refused to drink, and we continued our 
journey under a hot and burning sun. 

The ranchero's family here took leave of me with tears, and 
prayers to all the saints for my safe journey. The old grand- 
mother, after blessing me, told me that she had, by dint of I 
don't know how many Ave Marias, interested the patron saint of 
the family in my behalf, one San Ysidro of Guadalaxara, who, 
she was assured, would take me under his especial keeping. She 
likewise hung round my neck a copper coin with a miraculous 
hole in it, which would preserve me from the arrows of the 
Comanches, and the still more dangerous weapons of " el enimigo 
del mundo," who, she said, was ever " cazando " (hunting) after 
the souls of heretics. 

The plains were still covered with mezquit, and a species of 
palm which grows to the height of five or six feet, a bunch of long 
narrow leaves issuing from the top of the stem, which is fre- 
quently as thick as a man's body. From a distance it is exactly 
like an Indian w r ith a head-dress of feathers, and Angel was con- 
tinually calling my attention to these vegetable savages. Be- 
tween the plains an elevated ridge presents itself, generally a 
spur from the sierras which run parallel to them on the eastern 
and western flanks, and this formation is everywhere the same. 
Where the ground is covered with mezquit-thickets or chappa- 
rales, a high but coarse grass is found ; but on the bluffs is an 
excellent species, known in Mexico as gramma, and on the 
prairies as a variety of the buffalo-grass, on which cattle and 
horses thrive and fatten equally as well as on grain. 

As I was riding close to a bunch of mezquit the whiz of a 
rattlesnake's tail caused my horse to spring on one side and 
tremble with affright. I dismounted, and, drawing the wiping- 
stick from my rifle, approached the reptile to kill it. The snake, 
as thick as my wrist, and about three feet long, was curled up, with 
its flat vicious-looking head and neck erected, and its tail rattling 
violently. • A blow on the head soon destroyed it, but, as I was re- 
mounting, my rifle slipped out of my hand, and crack went the 
stock. A thong of buckskin however soon made it as secure as ever. 



chap, xvi] CAMP ON PLAIN— ANIMALS LOST. 119 

After travelling about twenty-five miles I selected a camping- 
ground, and, unloading the mules, made a kind of breastwork of 
the packs and saddles, behind which to retreat in case of an 
Indian attack, which was more than probable, as we had dis- 
covered plenty of recent signs in the plains. It was about sun- 
set when we had completed our little fort, and, spreading a 
petate, or mat, the animals were soon at their suppers of corn, 
which I had brought for the purpose. They had all their 
cabrestas or ropes round their necks, and trailing on the ground, 
in order that they might be easily caught and tied when they had 
finished their corn ; and, giving the mozo strict orders to this effect, 
I rolled myself in my blanket and was soon asleep, as I intended 
to be on the watch myself from midnight, to prevent surprise. In 
about two or three hours I awoke, and, jumping up, found 
Angel asleep, and that all the animals had disappeared. It was 
pitchy dark, and not a trace of them could be distinguished, 
After an hour's ineffectual search I returned to camp, and waited 
until daybreak, when it would be light enough to track the ani- 
mals. This there was no difficulty in doing, and I at once found 
that, after hunting for some time for water, they had taken the 
track back to El Gallo, whither I had no doubt they had returned 
for water. It was certainly a great relief to me to find that they 
had not been taken by the Indians, which at first I thought was 
the case ; but their course w r as perfectly plain where they had 
trodden down the high grass, wet with dew, in their search for 
water. Not finding it, they had returned at once, and in a direct 
course, to our yesterday's trail, and made off towards El Gallo, 
without stopping to eat, or even pick the tempting gramma on 
their way. The only fear now was, that a wandering party of 
Indians should fall in with them on the road, when they would 
not only seize the animals, but discover our present retreat by 
following their trail. 

When I returned to camp I immediately despatched Angel 
to El Gallo, ordering him to come back instantly, and without 
delaying a moment, when he had found the beasts, remaining 
myself to take charge of the camp and baggage. On examining 
a pair of saddle-bags which my kind hostess at El Gallo had 
filled with tortillas, quesos, &c, I found that Mr. Angel had, 
either during the night, or when I was hunting for the missing 



120 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xvi. 

animals, discussed all its contents, not leaving as much as a 
crumb ; and as the fresh morning air had given me a sharp 
appetite, I took my rifle and slung a double-barrel carbine on 
my back, placed a pair of pistols in my belt, and, thus armed, 
started off to the sierra to kill an antelope and broil a collop for 
breakfast. Whilst hunting I crossed the sierra, which was rocky 
and very precipitous, and from the top looked down into a neigh- 
bouring plain, where I fancied I could discern an arroyo with 
running water. Half suffocated at the time with thirst, I imme- 
diately descended, although the place was six or seven miles out 
in the plain, and thought of nothing but assuaging my thirst. I 
had nearly completed the descent when a band of antelope 
passed me, and stopped to feed in a little plateau near which ran 
a canon or hollow, which would enable me to approach them 
within shot. Down the canon I accordingly crept, carefully 
concealing myself in the long grass and bushes, and occasionally 
raising my head to judge the distance. In this manner I had 
approached, as I thought, to within rifle-shot, and, creeping 
between two rocks at the edge of the hollow, I raised my head to 
reconnoitre, and met a sight which caused me to drop it again 
behind the cover, like a turtle drawing into its shell. About two 
hundred yards from the canon, and hardly twice that distance 
from the spot where I lay concealed, were riding quietly along, 
in Indian file, eleven Comanches, painted and armed for war. 
Each had a lance and bow and arrows, and the chief, who was in 
advance, had a rifle, in a gaily ornamented case of buckskin, 
hanging at his side. They w r ere naked to the waist, their buffalo 
robes being throw T n off their shoulders and lying on their hips, 
and across the saddle, which was a mere pad of buffalo-skin. 
They were making towards the canon, which I imagined they 
would cross by a deer-path near where I stood. I certainly 
thought my time was come, but w r as undecided whether to fire 
upon them as soon as they were near enough, or trust to the 
chance of their passing me undiscovered. Although the odds 
w r ere great, I certainly had the advantage, being in an excellent 
position, and having six shots in readiness, even if they charged, 
when they could only attack me one at a time. I took in at 
once the advantages of my position, and determined, if they 
showed an intention of crossing the canon by the deer-path, to 



chap, xvi.] NARROW ESCAPE— NIGHT-MARCH. 121 

attack them, but not otherwise. As they approached, laughing 
and talking, I raised my rifle, and, resting it in the fork of a 
bush which completely hid me, I covered the chief, his brawny 
breast actually shining (oily as it was) at the end of my sight. 
His life, and probably mine, hung on a thread. Once he turned 
his horse, when he arrived at the deer-track which crossed the 
canon, and, thinking that they were about to approach by that 
path, my finger even pressed the trigger; but an Indian behind 
him said a few words, and pointed along the plain, when he re- 
sumed his former course and passed on. I certainly breathed 
more freely, although (such is human nature) no sooner had they 
turned off than I regretted not having fired. If an unnecessary, 
it would not have been a rash act, for in my position, and armed 
as I was, I was more than a match for the whole party. How- 
ever, antelope and water went unscathed, and as soon as the 
Indians were out of sight I again crossed the sierra, and reached 
the camp about two hours before sunset, where, to my disappoint- 
ment, the animals had not yet arrived, and no signs of their 
approach were visible on the plain. I determined, if they did not 
make their appearance by sundown, to return at once to El 
Gallo, as I suspected my mozo might commit some foul play, 
and perhaps abscond with the horses and mules. Sun went down, 
but no Angel ; and darkness set in and found me, almost dead 
with thirst, on my way to El Gallo. It was with no little dif- 
ficulty I could make my way, now stumbling over rocks, and 
now impaling myself on the sharp prickles of the palma or 
nopalo. Several times I was in the act of attacking one of the 
former, so ridiculously like feathered Indians did they appear in 
the dim starlight. However, all was hushed and dark — not even a 
skulking Comanche would risk his neck on such a night : now 
and then an owl would hoot over head, and the mournful and 
long-continued howl of the coyote swept across the plain, or a 
snake rattled as it heard my approaching footstep. When the 
clouds swept away, and allowed the stars to emit their feeble 
light, the palms waved in the night air, and raised their nodding 
heads against the sky, the cry of the coyote became louder, as it 
was now enabled to pursue its prey, cocuyos flitted amongst the 
grass like winged sparks of fire, and deer or antelope bounded 
across my path. The trail indeed was in many parts invisible, 



122 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xvi. 

and I had to trust to points of rocks and ridges, and trees which 
I remembered to have passed the day before, to point out my 
course. Once, choked with thirst, and utterly exhausted — for I 
had been travelling since sunrise without food or water — I sank 
down on the damp ground and slept for a couple of hours, and 
when I awoke the stars were obscured by heavy clouds, and the 
darkness prevented me distinguishing an object even a few feet 
distant. I had lost my bearings, and was completely confused, 
not knowing which course to follow. Trusting to instinct, I 
took what I considered the proper direction, and shortly after, 
when it again became light enough to see, I regained the path 
and pushed rapidly on ; and at length the welcome lowing of 
cattle satisfied me that I was near the wells where I had stopped 
the previous day. I soon arrived at the spot, and, lowering the 
goatskin bucket, buried my head in the cold water, and drank a 
delicious draught. 

At about three in the morning, just as the first dawn was ap- 
pearing, I knocked at the door of the rancho, and the first voice 
I heard was that of my mozo, asking lazily, " Quien llama?" — 
who calls ? 

Every one was soon up, and congratulating me upon being 
still alive ; for when Angel had told them of the loss of the 
animals, and that I was remaining alone, they gave me up for 
lost, as the spot where we had encamped was a notorious stopping- 
place of the Indians when en route for the haciendas. I was so 
fortunate as to find all the animals safe ; they were quietly 
feeding near the cattle-wells when the mozo arrived there. He 
made some lame excuse for not returning, but I have no doubt 
his intention had been to make off with them, which, if I had 
not suspected something of the sort, and followed him, he would 
probably have effected. 

At daylight I mounted a mule bare-backed, and Angel 
another; and, leading the remainder, we rode back to the camp, 
whence we immediately started for Mapimi. 

As a punishment for his carelessness and meditated treachery, 
I obliged the mozo to ride bare-backed the whole distance of 
nearly sixty miles, and at a round trot. This feat of equitation, 
which on the straight and razor-like back of an ill-conditioned 
mule is anything but an easy or comfortable process, elicited 



chap, xvi.] ANIMALS SAFE— MAPIMI. 123 

from Angel, during his ride, a series of the most pathetic 
laments on his miserable fate in serving so merciless a master, 
accompanied by supplications to be allowed to mount the horse 
which carried his saddle and ran loose. But I was obdurate. 
He was the undoubted cause, by not having watched the animals, 
as was his duty, of the delay and loss of time I had suffered, and 
therefore, as a warning, and as a matter of justice, I administered 
this salutary dose of " Lynch law," which I have no doubt he 
remembers to the present moment. 

About midday we reached the hacienda de la Cadena, first 
passing a vidette stationed on a neighbouring hill, on the look- 
out for the Indians. The hacienda itself was closed, and men 
were ready on the azoteas with guns and bows and arrows, when 
the approach of strangers was announced by signal from the 
ranchero on the hill. Just outside the gates were erected 
several crosses, with their little piles of stones, on which were 
roughly-cut inscriptions ; they were all to the memory of those 
who had been killed on the spot by Indians. 

We stayed at La Cadena merely to water our beasts, the 
people shouting from the housetop, and asking if we were mad, 
to travel alone. Angel, to whom I had again intrusted a 
carbine, answered by striking his hand on the butt of his piece, 
and vociferating, " Miren ustedes : somos valientes, que importan 
los carajos Comanches. Que vengan, y yo los matare." — Look 
here : we are brave men, and don't care a straw for the rascally 
Comanches. Only let them come, and I will kill them myself. 
— And the muchachas waved their rebosos, and saluted the 
"valiente," shouting, " Adios, buen mozo ! mate a los bar- 
baros I" — God keep you, brave lad ! kill the savages. At which 
Angel waved his gun, in a state of great excitement and present 
valour, which cooled amazingly when we were out of sight of 
the hacienda and amongst the dreary chaparrales. 

It was ten at night when we reached Mapimi ; and, losing the 
track, we got bewildered in the darkness, and wandered into a 
marsh outside the town, the lights of which were apparently 
quite close at hand : but all our shouting and cries for assistance 
and a guide were in vain, and caused the inhabitants to bar- 
ricade their doors, as they thought the Indians were upon them ; 
which panic was probably increased, when at last, guessing at 



124 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xvi. 

the cause, and almost losing my temper, I gave a succession of 
most correct war-whoops as I floundered through the mud, and 
fired a volley at the same moment. When, therefore, I at length 
extricated myself and entered the town, not a living soul was 
visible, and the lights all extinguished ; so, groping my way to 
the plaza, at one side of which trickled a little stream, I un- 
packed my mules and encamped, sending the mozo with a costal 
for a supply of corn for the animals, with which he presently 
returned, reporting at the same time that the people were half 
dead with terror. The mules and horses properly cared for, I 
rolled myself in my blanket in the middle of the street, and went 
supperless to sleep, after a ride of sixty-five miles. 

El Real de Mapimi is situated on a plain at the foot of a 
mountain called, from its supposed resemblance to a purse, the 
Bolson de Mapimi. The sierras, which surround the plain, teem 
with the precious metals ; but for some reason, probably from 
its situation near the frontier, and its exposure to Indian attacks, 
they have never been properly worked. The mine near the town, 
and the hacienda de beneficios, belong to an inhabitant of Ma- 
pimi, who, without capital or machinery, derives a considerable 
income even from the primitive method employed in working 
the mine, which produces gold, silver, lead, and sulphur from 
the same sierra. My impression is, that the mines of Mapimi, 
if properly worked, would be the most productive in the country ; 
and the transportation of machinery, by way of the Rio Grande 
and Monclova, would be practicable, and attended with com- 
paratively little expense. The town itself is merely a collection 
of adobe houses, and, with the exception of a cotton-factory,* the 
superintendent of which is an Englishman, possesses no trade of 
any description. The population, of between two and three 
thousand, live in constant dread of the Indians, who lately entered 
the town and carried off the mulada belonging to the hacienda 
de beneficios out of the very corrals. The surrounding country 
is sterile and uninhabited ; the villages and ranchos have been 
deserted, and the fields laid waste by the savages. Between 
Mapimi and Chihuahua is a large unpeopled tract of country 

* In the gardens of the factory at Mapimi I noticed several tea-plants, 
which thrive in this climate and soil, and the leaves of -which, I was in- 
formed, are of very tolerable flavour. 



chaf. xvi.j MAPIMI— STREET-CAMP. 125 



called the travesia : it once possessed several thriving villages 
and ranchos, now deserted and in ruins, where the Indians resort 
durin^ their incursions, and leave their tired animals to be 
recruited in the pastures which have sprung up on the once cul- 
tivated fields, removing them on their return. A road from 
Mapimi, now disused for years and overgrown with grass, leads 
to Chihuahua through these deserted villages, and I determined 
to follow it, in spite of the bad character assigned to it. by the 
Mexicans on account of its being so much frequented by the 
Comanches. 

Here I gave my mozo, Angel, his conge, and picked up, 
much to my astonishment, a little Irishman, who had been 
eighteen years in Mexico, during which time he had passed over 
nearly the whole republic, excepting New Mexico. He had 
lost all traces of his Milesian descent, being in character, 
manners, and appearance a perfect Mexican, and had almost for- 
gotten his own language. Indians moreover had no terrors for 
him, and he at once agreed to accompany me to Chihuahua, even 
by way of the travesia, " for," said he, u the Indian isn't born 
who will take my scalp." 

During my stay in Mapimi I encamped in the middle of the 
plaza, much to the gratification of the pelddos* of the town, 
who constantly surrounded me, pilfering everything which lay 
exposed. My reason for preferring the open air, even of a street, 
was the absence of vermin, which in the houses actually devour 
the full-blooded Europeo. The evening before our departure 
a deputation waited upon me to dissuade me from attempting to 
cross the travesia to Chihuahua. The alcalde even went as far 
as to say that my new mozo, who was a Mexican citizen, should 
not be allowed to leave the town ; but this I at once overcame 
by exhibiting my formidable-looking passports and cartas de secu- 
ridad, or letters of security. They asked how I could expect to 
escape the Indians ? I pointed to my rifle. " Yalgame en Dios I" 
was the rejoinder ; " que loco es este Yngles !" — What a madman 
this Englishman is ! 

One event occurred in Mapimi which annoyed me excessively. 
The night of my arrival, my animals, I fear, were rather scantily 

* Pelado, literally skinless, meaning, in Mexico, the ragged, coatless vaga- 
bonds who loaf about the towns and villages. 



12 6 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xvi. 



supplied with corn ; and, to revenge the slight, the mules ate the 
tail of my beautiful Panchito to the very dock — a tail which I 
had tied, and combed, and tended with the greatest care and 
affection. In the morning I hardly recognised the animal ; his 
once ornamental appendage looked as if it had been gnawed by 
rats, and his whole appearance was disfigured. I got a pair of 
shears, and clipped and cut, but only made matters worse, and 
was fain to desist after an hour's attempt. The tails of the 
mules were at the end of my journey picked like a bone, for, 
whenever their supper was poor, they immediately fell to work 
on each other's tails. 

A perfect levee was held round my camp, which, being in the 
open square, of course was exposed enough. In this obtrusion, 
and the pertinacity with which they maintain it, the Mexicans 
are infinitely more annoying than the Indians themselves. 
Wrapped in their sarapes, they used to surround my fire, even 
when I was eating my meals, staring at my every action, and 
without saying a w r ord. A pelado would remain thus motionless 
for two or three hours, when he would retire for the purpose of 
eating his dinner, returning after it, and taking up the same posi- 
tion. No hints were strong enough, and no rebuffs had any effect 
in abating the nuisance : but, frequently losing all temper and 
patience, I rattled out at them in pretty hearty abuse. Then 
they would move off, muttering, " Que sin vergiienza !" — What 
a shameless, unmannered fellow is this ! 

When eating, I found that the most efficacious way of getting 
rid of them was by making use of the " invitation" which Spaniards 
invariably proffer to strangers of any class before commencing a 
meal : " Ustedes gustan ?" I would ask ; and, strangely enough, 
nothing seemed to insult them more than this. Without the 
usual answer of " Mil gracias ; buen provecho tenga usted " (a 
thousand thanks ; may your worship have a good appetite), they 
invariably slunk away without answering. 



chap, xvii.] LEAVE MAPIMI-DESERTED VILLAGE 127 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Leave Mapimi — The Travesia — Deserted Village — Arroyo de los Indios — 
Fresh " Sign " — Salitrose Spring — Strike Settlements — Lost Americans — 
Their Sufferings — The Camblet Cloak — Don Augustin Garcia — Expedi- 
tion to Sierra del Diablo — Indian Sign — Dangerous Camp — Return to 
Guajoquilla — Novedades — A Fix — Kit stolen — Thieves taken — The Sca- 
venger's Daughter — Holy Child of Atocha — Convincing Proof — Coci- 
nera's Penance. 

On the 23rd I left Mapimi, the whole population, I do believe, 
turning out to see me put my head in the lion's mouth. For 
thirty-six miles we travelled through an arid chapparal ; when, 
towards sunset, we entered into a more open plain, where we 
saw the ruined houses of Jarral Grande. The houses had been 
built round a large open space covered with grass, each one 
standing in a garden. At the entrance of the village, and scat- 
tered along the road, was a perfect forest of crosses, many of 
them thrown down or mutilated by the Indians. The houses 
were most of them tumbling to pieces, but some were still entire. 
The gardens, overrun with a wilderness of weeds, still contained 
flowers, and melon-vines crept from the enclosures out into the 
green. In one house that I entered a hare was sitting on the 
threshold, and some leverets were inside ; and on the flat azotea 
of another sat a large cat. The walls, too, of the ruined houses 
were covered with creepers, which hung from the broken roofs 
and about the floors. 

I entered another house, which, from its size and appearance, 
had evidently been the abode of the priest or chief personage of 
the village. The remains of a recent fire were scattered about the 
floor, on which were strewed several Indian xuages or drin king- 
gourds, an arrow, and a human scalp. The Indians had very 
latelv visited the village, and some of them had doubtless taken 
up their abode in this house, and perhaps, departing before day- 
light, had left these articles behind tliem. 



128 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xvir. 

There were several cats about the ruins ; and, as I entered, 
four or five enormous ones jumped off a wall where they lay bask- 
ing in the sun, and concealed themselves in the tangled weeds. 

The sun set beauteously on this lonely scene. In the distance, 
the ragged outline of the sierra was golden with its declining rays, 
which shed a soft light on the ruins of the village ; and everything 
looked so calm and beautiful, that it was difficult to call to mind 
that this was once the scene of horrid barbarities. 

We took the animals down to the arroyo near the village, and, 
rifle in hand, watched them as they drank. In the sand at the 
edge of the stream were numerous marks of horses' feet and 
moccasin-tracks fresh and recent. The Indians had been there 
that morning, and might very probably return, so it behoved us 
to be on the watch. We therefore picqueted the mules and horses 
in the open space in the middle of the village, while we ourselves 
retreated to the shelter and shadow of a house within pistol-shot, 
whence we could command all the approaches to the green with- 
out being ourselves seen ; one standing sentry while the other 
slept. In the night a number of perfectly wild cattle entered 
the village, and nearly caused our animals to stampede. One 
fat young heifer approached to within a few feet of where I was 
lying watching under a wall, and very nearly tempted me to a 
shot. Little rest we had that night ; and long before daylight, 
that being the hour when Indians make their attacks, we were 
up and on the alert. 

We were in our saddles before sunrise, and with great diffi- 
culty made our way in the dark through the thick chaparral. 
On approaching a stream called Arroyo de los Indios, or Indian 
River, I had been warned to be on the look-out, as that stream 
was a favourite stopping-place of the Indians. We crossed near 
where a broad and freshly-used Indian trail entered it, and 
halted some distance up the stream from the ford. There were 
deep holes of the clearest and coldest water in the arroyo, and 
I enjoyed a most delicious bathe. My animals were picqueted, 
and fared badly, the grass being coarse and sparsely scattered 
amongst the bushes. 

We had another night of watchfulness, or rather half a night, 
for shortly after midnight we again packed the mules and started. 
This I did on account of the greater security of travelling at 



chap, xvii.] JARRAL GRANDE— ARROYO DE LOS INDIOS. 129 

night, and in order to reach Jarral Chiquito, if possible, before 
sunrise, when, if Indians had been encamped there, as was more 
than probable, we might escape before we were observed. The 
distance from Jarral Grande to Arroyo de los Indios was forty 
miles, and from that river to Jarral Chiquito, or Little Jarral, 
the same. The latter place was also a noted stopping-place of 
the Indians, and my servant had made up his mind that there we 
should have some work. To do him justice, however, he was 
nothing loth, and behaved remarkably well all through this dan- 
gerous journey. The sun rose magnificently behind us just before 
we reached Jarral ; and, turning in my saddle, I saw Harry look- 
ing hard at it with shaded eyes. 

" What's the matter?" I sang out. 

" Look, sir — look at the sun rise," he answered : " perhaps 
we may never have another chance, Don Jorge. I never saw 
it look so beautiful before." 

The plains here abounded in deer, and a bird of the pheasant 
species called faisan, and corrupted into paisano by the lower 
classes. 

We reached Jarral Chiquito shortly after sunrise, and I rode 
on to reconnoitre. No Indians were there, but plenty of " sign." 
The village was situated on a hill, near a small spring of salitose 
water, round which grows a clump of cotton-woods, a species of 
poplar (alamo). The village had been entirely burned by the In- 
dians, with the exception of one house which was still standing, the 
roof of which they had torn off, and from the upper walls had 
shot down with arrows all the inmates. Inside were the skeleton 
of a dog and several human bones. A dreary stillness reigned 
over the whole place, unbroken by any sound, save the croaking 
of a bullfrog in the spring, round which we encamped for a few 
hours. At noon we again started, and travelled on till nearly dark, 
when we encamped in the middle of a bare plain, without water 
for the animals, or wood with which to make a fire. The grass, 
also, was thin, and the poor beasts fared badly, after a journey of 
more than sixty miles within twenty-four hours. In the night I 
saw a fire some distance from us, but apparently on the same 
plain. It was doubtless an encampment of a large party of In- 
dians who passed Guajoquilla the very day of my arrival there. 

On the 26th at daybreak we were packed and off, and, after a 

K 



ISO ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xvii. 

journey of forty miles, to our great satisfaction we struck the 
settlements of Guajoquilla. Before entering the town we crossed 
a large milpa, where the people were busy cutting and carrying 
the maize. My sudden appearance put them to flight, and men, 
women, and children rushed like rabbits to the cover of the 
maize- canes. They mistook me for an Indian, as I was dressed in 
a hunting-shirt and fringed leggings ; and as the Comanches had 
passed that very morning, killing some of the labourers in the 
field, they were justified in their alarm. 

Guajoquilla* is a pretty, quaint little town, with its white- 
washed adobe houses, and looking clean and neat. The arrival 
of strangers, and in such an extraordinary garb, and moreover 
evidently from the travesia and Mapimi, created no little sensa- 
tion. The people flocked round me, inquiring the novedadesj 
and how I had escaped the Indians. Hundreds of houses were 
placed at my disposal, but, as few of them contained stables or 
corrals, I rode into a street near the plaza, and, seeing a respect- 
able old dame sitting at a large gate which led to a corral, I 
invited myself to take up my abode with her, which, with a 
thousand protestations, she instantly agreed to. I had hardly 
dismounted when a tall gaunt figure elbowed its way through 
the admiring crowd, and, seizing my hand, exclaimed, " Thank 
God, here's a countryman at last !" and burst into tears. Re- 
garding him with astonishment, I perceived at once that he was 
an American, and, by his dress of well-worn homespun, evidently 
a Missourian, and one of the teamsters who accompany the Santa 
Fe caravans from the United States. He quickly told me his 
story. He was one of the twenty-one Americans who, as I have 
before mentioned, left Mr. Spiers' caravan some thirty or forty 
days before, intending to proceed across the country to the 
United States, by way of Texas. They had purchased horses 
and mules at the hacienda of La Sarca ; and, without a guide, 
and knowing nothing of the nature of the country they had to 
traverse, had entered a tract between the Bolson of Mapimi and 
the sierras of El Diablo, which is entirely destitute of game and 
water. Here their animals had nearly all died ; and themselves, 
separating in small parties, had vainly searched for water, remain - 

* Cotton is cultivated here, and thrives exceedingly well, as also in the 
valley of the Nazas. 



chap, xvii.] GUAJOQUILLA— THE LOST AMERICANS. 131 

ing for eij^ht (lavs with no other sustenance than the blood of 
mules, and reduced to the most revolting- extremities to assuage 
their burning thirst. The man before me and another had found 
their way to a hole of water after several days' travel, near which 
some pastores (shepherds) were tending a large flock of sheep, and 
these men had brought them into Guajoquilla. According to 
.ecoimt, the others must long ere this have perished, for w r hen 
he left them they were prostrate on the ground, unable to rise, 
and praying for death. In the hope of recovering some of their 
effects, ins companion, after recruiting his strength, had started 
back to the spot with some Mexicans, but, meeting a party of 
Comanches, they had returned without reaching the place. The 
next day, however, some vaqueros entered the town bearing six 
or seven Americans behind their saddles, and towards the evening: 
two more were brought in, making eleven in all who had arrived. 
Such miserable, emaciated creatures it has never been my lot to 
see. "With long hair and beards, and thin cadaverous faces, with 
the cheek-bones projecting almost through the skin, and their 
mouths cracked with the drought, they dismounted before my 
door, weak and scarcely able to stand ; most of them had entirely 
lost their voices, and some were giddy and light-headed with the 
sufferings they had endured. From their account I had no doubt 
that ten of their party were perishing in the sierra, or most pro- 
bably had already expired ; for they were entirely exhausted 
when the last of those who had arrived left the spot where they 
had been lying. After ordering my servant to make a large 
quantity of strong soup for the poor fellows, and providing for their 
immediate wants, I proceeded to the alcalde of the place, and 
told him the story. He at once agreed with me that some steps 
must be taken to rescue the sufferers if still alive, but he doubted 
if the people in the town would undertake the expedition, as it 
was known that the Indians were in the sierras, and in fact in 
every part, and it was a perfect miracle how the men had reached 
the town in safety. He also promised me that the men should 
not be confined, but allowed to go at large on parole, until he 
had communicated with the governor of Chihuahua, and that a 
large room should be provided for them, where they would be 
at perfect liberty. 

One of these men, a lean and lank Kentuckian, who, rawboned 

k2 



132 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xvii. 

at any time, was now a perfect skeleton, came up to me, and in 
a whisper, for his voice was lost for a time, requested to consult 
me on an important matter. The appearance of the poor fellow 
was comical in the extreme. His long black hair was combed 
over his face and forehead, and hung down his back and over his 
shoulders ; and his features, with cheek-bones almost protruding 
from the skin, wore an indescribably serio-comic expression. 
He was, in fact, what his appearance indicated, a " Puritan," 
and his words drawled out of his throat like fathoms of cable, 
or the sermon of a methodist preacher. 

" Stranger," he said to me, " you have been about the 
world, I guess, and ar a likely to know. What," he asked, 
putting his face close to mine, " might be the worth in your 
country of a camlet cloak ? I never see sich a cloak as that ar 
one in no parts," he continued, looking up into the sky as if the 
spectre of the camlet cloak was there. " I've worn that ar cloak 
more nor ten year, lined right away through with the best kind 
of bleachin. Stranger," he continued, " it's a bad fix them poor 
boys is in, away out thar in them darned dried-up hills, and it 
jest doubles me up to think on it. Now, I want to know what's 
the worth of such a fixin as that ar camlet cloak ?" I answered 
that I could not possibly tell, knowing nothing about such mat- 
ters, " Well, stranger, all I ar got to say is this, — thar aint sech 
another cloak as that between this and Louisville, anyhow you 
can fix it, and I want to know if the govner here will send out 
to them hills to bring in that ar camlet cloak. It lays jest whar 
we left them poor boys." I told him that, although I did not 
think the u governor " would exactly send out a detachment in 
search of his cloak, yet I had no doubt but that some steps would 
be taken to rescue the unfortunate men who were left in the 
sierras, and that if I went myself I would endeavour to recover 
it for him. This calmed him considerably, and, taking me by 
the arm, he said solemnly, " Stranger, I'll thank you for that ;" 
and, turning away, I heard him soliloquizing — " Sech a cloak as 
that ar aint nowhere between this and Louisville." 

The owner of the lost garment volunteered to accompany me 
in search of the missing men, for whose recovery he said he 
would give all he had, even the " camlet cloak ;" and I found 
him the best man of the party. During the journey he rode by 



chap, xvii.] THE CAMLET CLOAK. 133 

my side, the whole subject of his discourse being the merits of 
the wonderful garment. As we drew near the spot where he 
had left it, his excitement became intense. He speculated as to 
how it was lying — was it folded up? — had the rain injured it? 
&c. ; and at last (he had been riding for some time with his head 
bent forward, and his eyes almost starting from his head), he 
darted suddenly on, jumped from his horse, and seized upon some- 
thing lying on the ground. Holding up to my view an old 
tattered benjamin, with a catskin collar, and its original blue 
stained to a hundred different hues, he exultingly exclaimed, — 
" Stranger, h'yar's the darned old cloak : hurraw for my old 
camlet cloak ! — but darn it, whar's them poor bhoys ?" 

Determined to go myself in search of the Americans, I beat 
up for volunteers, and soon got four or five rancheros, who were 
mounted and armed by the prefect, to agree to accompany me. 
Eight of the Americans were also sufficiently recovered the next 
day to be of the party ; and about noon w r e started, sixteen in 
number, well armed and mounted. The alcalde, before w r e left, 
informed the Americans that, although prisoners, he did not 
hesitate to allow them to proceed under my command, as I had 
made myself answerable for their return. 

Taking an easterly course, w r e crossed a sierra, and entered 
upon a broken country dotted with groves of mezquit and palms, 
and intersected by numerous ravines and canons. About ten at 
night we halted for an hour to allow our horses to feed on the 
damp grass, as there was no water, and afterwards continued our 
journey at as rapid a rate as the nature of the country would 
admit. All night we passed through a wild and perfectly desert 
tract, crossing rough sierras and deep ravines. A large and 
recent Indian trail crossed the country from north to south, 
which my Mexican guide said was the main road of the Co- 
manches into the interior. At sunrise we reached a little hole of 
water, and a few feet beyond it lay the body of a mule which 
two of the Americans had killed for its blood, not knowing that 
water was within a few feet of them. No sooner had they gorged 
themselves with the hot blood than they discovered the pool, but 
were so sickened with their previous draught as to be unable to 
drink. Here we allowed our animals to fill themselves, and im- 
mediately rode on without resting. The country became still 



134 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xvn. 

more broken, and deer were very plentiful. I tumbled over one 
splendid buck, as he jumped out of a canon through which we 
were passing, but we were in too great a hurry to stop to take 
any of the meat. 

Towards evening, after travelling rapidly all the day, we 
approached the spot where the Americans had left their com- 
panions, and I caused the party to separate and spread out, to 
look for tracks of men or horses. Shortly after one of them 
stopped and called me to his side. He had discovered the body 
of a horse which they had left alive when they had last seen 
their companions. Its swollen tongue and body showed that the 
poor animal had died from excessive thirst, and was a bad omen 
of our finding the men alive. A few yards farther on lay 
another, which had died from the same cause. Presently we 
reached the spot, and found guns, and blankets, and ammunition, 
but no signs of the lost men. The ground, hard and rocky, 
afforded no clue to the course they had followed, but it was 
evident that they must have taken an opposite course to that 
from which we had just come, or we must have seen their tracks 
in the plains. The horses had been dead at least three days, 
and had evidently been turned loose to shift for themselves, as 
they were without ropes. No doubt remained in my mind as to 
their fate. The sierra, with the exception of the hole where we 
watered our animals, was destitute of water, and in the direction 
we imagined them to have taken, the country was still more arid, 
where, if they escaped a miserable death from starvation, they 
would in all probability encounter an equally certain one at the 
hands of the Indians. 

I learned afterwards, from a Mexican woman who had been 
carried a prisoner through this very sierra by the Comanches, 
and afterwards purchased from them by an Indian trader, that, 
in passing through this desert track, the Indians are four days 
and nights without water for their animals, hundreds of which 
perish on the road. 

After an ineffectual search we were obliged to turn back, as 
our animals had been nearly thirty hours without eating, and 
were almost exhausted ; and here there was no grass or herbage 
of any description. Our guide now recommended that we should 
strike a new course, and, instead of returning by the way we 



chap, xvii.] SEARCH IN VAIN. 135 

came, should cross the sierra by a gap known as the Puerta del 
Jabali — the gate of the wild boar ; and by this route we might 
that night reach an old deserted rancho, where was good grass, 
and water for the tired animals. Striking off to the gap, we 
passed a wide canon, full of high grass, and literally swarm- 
ing with deer. As all our provisions were exhausted, I rode 
ahead and killed a fine doe, which one of the Mexicans threw 
over his saddle. It was not till late in the night that we reached 
the old rancho ; and at the spring we found several Indian 
horses, with their backs still wet from the saddle, drinking, 
while others were feeding around. From the sign I knew that 
the Indians had been about since sundown, that they had pro- 
bably left their tired animals here, and would return in the 
morning, or perhaps during the night. It was necessary there- 
fore to be watchful. The alamos round the spring of water 
were black with ravens and crows which were roosting in the 
branches, and one of the Americans thoughtlessly discharged his 
rifle at them, which set all the Indian horses scampering off, 
and greatly annoyed me, as I had intended to have secured 
them. It might also have had the effect of bringing the Indians 
upon us, if they were in the neighbourhood, as probably they 
were. I remained " alerto " all night, having two Mexicans 
on sentry at the same time. The Americans lay snoring 
round a huge fire, and, being very tired, I did not require them 
to stand guard. As I was going my rounds I saw a figure 
crawling on the ground between me and the ruined walls of a 
house some two hundred yards distant. Assured that it could 
be no other than an Indian, I threw myself on the ground, and 
" approached " it, as the hunters say, cautiously and without 
noise. The figure was also " approaching" me, and we gradually 
drew near each other ; and I then perceived what I imagined to 
be an Indian in the very act of drawing his bow upon me. 
My rifle was instantly at my shoulder, and in another moment 
would have discharged its contents, when the figure rose on its legs 
and cried out, " No tire, no tire, por dios; soy amigo " — don't fire ; 
I 'm a friend ; — and I saw, sure enough, that it was one of the 
Mexicans, but, dressed in a brown sarape, and with his long black 
hair and dark face, and armed with bow and arrow, he might 
easily be mistaken for an Indian. 



136 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xvii. 

About four in the afternoon next day we rode into Guajo- 
quilla, and, before I had dismounted, Don Augustin Garcia, the 
prefect, followed by a crowd, accosted me : — 

" Que novedades?" he asked. " Nothing," I answered. 

" Pues aqui tiene usted muchas — well, here we have plenty 
of bad news for you. The robbers have broken into your room, 
and stolen all your baggage." 

" Pues," I answered, " si no hay remedio — if it can't be 
helped, it can't." 

My servant now made his appearance, with a face as white 
as a sheet ; I had given him strict orders, when I started, on 
no account to leave the house until my return. The night 
before, however, he had been induced by the robbers to go to a 
fandango, where they locked him in a room for several hours 
with a party of men and women drinking and dancing. When 
he returned to the house he found the door of my room, which 
was entered from the street, open, and, thinking that I had re- 
turned, he went into the house, and, awakening the women, asked 
them when I had come back. They told him that I was not yet 
returned, and he replied, " He must be, for his door was wide 
open." 

At this out jumped the patrona from her bed: "Ladrones! 
ladrones ! " she cried out, instantly guessing what had happened. 
Striking a light, the whole household entered my room, and 
found it stripped of everything. They had actually carried off 
the matting of my packsaddles ; trunks and saddles, guns, pistols, 
sword, and all were gone ; and in one of the packs were some 
three thousand dollars, so they had made a good night's work 
of it. My servant was in despair ; his first idea was to run, for 
I would kill him, he said, as soon as I arrived. The old pa- 
trona did not lose her presence of mind ; she rushed to her sala, 
and snatched from the wall a little image of el Nino de 
Atocha, a juvenile saint of extraordinary virtue. Seizing my 
distracted mozo by the shoulders, she forced him on his* knees, 
and, surrounded by all the women of the family, vowed to the 
uplifted saint three masses, the cook on her part a penance, and 
my servant a mass likewise, if the stolen goods were recovered, 
besides scores of Pater Nosters, dozens of Ave Marias, &c. &c. 
Having done this, as she told me when giving a history of the 



chap, xvii.] A FIX— A BURGLARY— MY HOSTESS. 137 

affair, her heart became calm ; the blessed child of Atocha had 
never deserted her, a lone widow, with only a buellada of two 
hundred cattle to depend upon, and her husband killed by the 
barbaros ; and she felt assured that by the saint's means the 
things would be recovered. "The scandal, she said, the 'in- 
fanta' of the robbery taking place in her house !" and a stranger 
too to be plundered, " lejos de su patria y sus amigos; ay que 
lastima, que infamia ! " — far from his country and his friends ; 
what an atrocity ! 

Tiie prefect, Don August] n, was soon on the scent ; one man 
was already suspected, who had been seen in front of the house 
late on the night of the robbery, and, passing by frequently, 
had attracted the attention of my patrona. My mozo, pistol 
in hand, went to the house of this man and collared him, and 
when I arrived had already lodged him in the calaboza. Two 
others were shortly after taken on suspicion of being accom- 
plices. 

"No hay cuidado— there is no fear," said Don Augustin; 
" we '11 get everything back ; I have put them to the torture, 
and they have already confessed to the robbery." 

My servant, who witnessed the operation, said it was beau- 
tiful to see the prefect screwing a confession out of them. 
Their necks and feet were placed in two different holes, which, 
by means of a screw, were brought together until every muscle 
of the body and limbs was in a frightful state of tension, and 
the bones almost dislocated. At length they divulged where 
one trunk was concealed, and then another, and after two or 
three faintings, one article after another was brought to light. 
In the intervals the prefect rushed to me, wiping the perspiration 
from his forehead. 

" No hay cuidado, no hay cuidado ; we'll have everything 
out of them. They have just now fainted off, but when they re- 
cover they shall be popped in again." 

At last everything was recovered but a small dirk-knife with 
a mother-of-pearl handle, which defied screwing, and I begged 
Don Augustin not to trouble himself about it, as everything 
else was safe. But "No," he said, "No hay cuidado, no hay 
cuidado ; we '11 have everything out of them ; strangers must 
not be robbed with impunity in my prefecture." However, it 



138 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xvii. 

took another violent screw, and the poor wretch, with eyes 
starting out of his head, cried out at last to stop, and pulled 
out of his pocket the missing knife, which he had doubtless 
determined to keep, on the principle of having " something for 
his money." 

The chief delinquent was the priest's nephew, and most of 
the stolen property was concealed in the reverend gentleman's 
garden. To do him justice, however, the padre was very active 
in his attempts to recover my property, and stood by his nephew, 
when under the process of the screw, to exhort him to con- 
fession, or administer extreme unction if it was necessary. 

When everything had been brought back, my good old pa- 
trona rushed to me with el Santo Nino de Atocha, which she 
begged of me to kiss, at the same time hanging it in my room 
to protect it from another spoliation. That evening I was sitting 
at the door, enjoying a chat with the senoritas de la casa, and a 
cigarro, when I saw a figure, or rather the trunk, of a woman, 
moving along on what appeared to be the stumps of legs, en- 
veloped in a cloud of dust, as she slowly crept along the road. 
She passed three or four times, going and returning upwards of 
a hundred yards, and earnestly praying the while. " Por Dios," 
I asked of one of the girls — " for God's sake, what's this ? " 

" Es Dolores, la concinera" — it 's Dolores, the cook — perform- 
ing penance, was the answer ; and her vow instantly recurred to 
me. The poor old body had vowed to walk so many hundred 
yards on her knees in the public streets, repeating at the same 
time a certain number of Ave Marias, if the credit of the family 
waj restored by the discovery of the thief and the recovery of 
my property. 

I had a large pot of soup kept always on the fire, to which the 
half-starved Americans had access whenever they felt inclined, 
and, as I was sitting at the door, several of them passed into the 
house, brushing by the muchachas without the usual " con su 
licencia," much to the indignation of the ladies. 

It is a general impression amongst the lower classes in Mexico, 
that the Americans are half savages, and perfectly uncivilized. 
The specimens they see in Northern Mexico are certainly not 
remarkably polished in manners or appearance, being generally 
rough backwoodsmen from Missouri. They go by the name of 



chap, xvn.] MISSOURIAN UNCOUTHNESS. 139 

" burros," — jackasses ; and have the reputation of being infidels 
who worship the devil, &c. I was trying to explain to my female 
friends that the Americans were a very civilized people, and a 
great portion of them of the same religion as their own, but they 
scouted the idea ; the priests had told them the contrary, and 
now they saw with their own eyes that they were burros. 

" Ni saludan las mugeres !" indignantly exclaimed a dark 
beauty, as a conclusive argument — they do not even salute the 
women when they pass — as, just at that moment, a Missourian, 
six feet high in his mocassins, stepped over her head as she sat 
on the sill of the gate. 

" Ni saludan las mugeres," she repeated ; " you see it your- 
self. Ah, no, por Dios, son burros, y muy sin vergiienzas " — 
they are jackasses, and entirely without shame. " Yalgame 
Dios, que hombres tan fleros !" — what wild men they are ! 

In the northern part of Mexico beds are unknown in the 
ranchos, and even in the houses of respectable people. A species 
of mattress is spread upon the floor at night, on which the sheets 
and mantas are laid, and in the daytime is rolled up against the 
wall, and, neatly folded and covered with a gay manta, forms a 
settee or sofa. Chairs are not used, and at meals the dishes are 
placed on the ground, and the guests sit round in Indian fashion, 
and dip their tortillas into the dish. A triangular piece of 
tortilla is converted into a spoon, and soup even is eaten in this 
way. Spoons are seldom met with even in the houses of the 
ricos, the use of the tortilla being universal. 



140 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xviii. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Leave Guajoquilla — Bivouac of Mexican Soldiers — Mexican Surprise — Kill 
an Antelope — Santa Rosalia — Taken for a Spy — Las Animas — Los Sau- 
cillos — Indian Miner — Legend of the " Black Vein of Sombrerete " — 
Hospitality (?) — The Alazan— Fugitives from Chihuahua — Bernardo the 
Bullfighter — In Sight of Chihuahua. 

On the 3rd of November I left Guajoquilla, under the escort 
of ten thousand blessings heaped upon me by my kind-hearted 
hostess and her family, and under the especial protection of the 
" holy infant of Atocha." We left after dark, as, on account of 
the novedades, it was deemed not only prudent, but indispensable 
to safety, to travel in the night. About two in the morning I 
was riding along muffled in my sarape, for it was piercingly cold, 
and half asleep at the time, when I descried ahead of me several 
camp-fires a little off the road. I at once set them down as 
Indians, as they had been seen the previous day between Guajo- 
quilla and La Remada, and instantly stopped the cavallada. 
Dismounting, I took my rifle, and approached to reconnoitre, 
creeping up to within a few yards of the fire, where lay snoring 
a picquet of soldiers, while a large body lay bivouacked around. 
I now remembered that a detachment was out, under the com- 
mand of one Colonel Amendares, a noted matador de Indios, for 
the purpose of surprising a body of Indians which had passed the 
Conchos, and would probably return by this route. Their anxiety 
to surprise the Indians was evident by the position they had 
chosen for their ambuscade, being bivouacked in the very middle 
of the Indian road, and under a high ridge of hills, over which 
the Indians had to pass, and from whence they could not fail to 
discover their position. When I regained my horse, and passed 
close to their fires, I saluted them with a war-whoop which threw 
the whole camp into a ferment. A little after sunrise we 
reached the rancho of La Remada, where was a detachment of 
troops to protect the people from the Indians ; and we halted 
here, to feed the animals, for two or three hours, after which we 



chap, xviii.] LEAVE GUAJOQUILLA— SANTA ROSALIA. 141 

resumed our journey to Santa Rosalia. Just before entering the 
town I killed an antelope in the road. The animal ran to within 
a hundred yards of my horse, when it stopped and looked at me, 
giving me time to knock it over from my saddle. 

Santa Rosalia is a little dirty place, and has been selected by 
the Governor of Chihuahua as a point to be defended against the 
anticipated advance of the Americans. With this object they 
were busily engaged throwing up walls and parapets, and cutting 
ditches ; but all their work could not convert it into a tenable 
position. 

I put up in the house of an American who has a little " dry- 
goods " store in the town, and in the middle of the night was called 
up by a violent knocking at the gate. As the mob had been 
talking of revenging themselves for the defeat sustained by the 
Mexican troops at Monterey the other day, by sacking the two 
unfortunate little stores belonging to Americans, my host thought 
his time was come, but, resolving to die game, came to me to 
assist in defending the house. We therefore carried all the arms 
into the store, and placed them on the counter, w 7 hich served as a 
parapet for our bodies. The door of the shop opened into the 
street, and behind it we could hear the clanking of swords and 
other warlike noises. Presently a loud knock, and a voice ex- 
claimed " Abra la puerta." 

"Quien es?" I asked — Who is it? No answer; but" Abra 
la puerta !" — open the door — w r as repeated. However, finding 
that we paid no attention to the request, another summons was 
tried, with the addition of " En el nombre del General — in the 
name of the General — who has sent me, his ayudante, to speak with 
the master of this house." With this " open sesame " we unbarred 
the door to the General's aide-de-camp, a ferocious-looking in- 
dividual with enormous moustache and clattering sabre. 

" Where," he asked, in an authoritative voice, " is this 
American spy who entered the town to-day and concealed him- 
self in this house ? " No answer. Question repeated with like 
effect. The moustached hero grinned with rage, and turned to 
his followers, saying, " You see this ;" and then, turning to us, 
said, " It is the General's order that every foreigner in this house 
immediately attend at his quarters, where you will answer for 
harbouring a spy," turning to the master of the house. 



142 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xviii. 



We speedily donned our clothes, and appeared at the house 
of the Genera], who was sitting in a room waiting our arrival. 
Without waiting for any explanation, I immediately presented 
my credentials, saying, " Hi tiene listed, mi General, mis pasa- 
puertas y carta de securidad," which, to the dissatisfaction of the 
ayudante, after glancing at, he returned with a low bow, and 
many apologies for disturbing me at so late an hour. 

It happened to be the feast of Las Animas, when money is 
collected by the priests for the purpose of praying souls out of 
purgatory, which on this day is done by wholesale. If money is 
not to be had, the collectors, usually children, with little boxes 
which have holes in which the coin is dropped, receive corn 
or beans ; the contribution of my landlord being a couple of 
tallow candles, which no doubt were efficacious in getting some 
unhappy soul out of several years' pawn, and perhaps were use- 
ful in greasing the way, as the donor remarked, to the exit of 
some orthodox pelado. 

Leaving Santa Rosalia on the 5th, we proceeded to Los Sau- 
cillos, a small Indian village, the population of which is entirely 
employed in mining on their own account. It is situated on 
the Conchos, here a broad but shallow stream, which runs into 
the Del Norte above the presidio of that name : this village is 
thirty-six miles from Santa Rosalia. The gambucinos, or indepen- 
dent miners, are a class sui generis. Their gains depend entirely 
upon the bonanza, or the chance of striking a rich vein, which, 
with their system of grubbing and pickaxing at random, is a 
rare event. Still they work on year after year, with the golden 
vision of a bonanza ever before their eyes, which will at once 
raise them to comparative wealth ; and, stimulated by the hope, 
abandon all other labour for the speculative toil of mining. 
Thus, in these petty reales,* a scarcity of provisions, and even 
of the necessaries of life, is very apparent. The gambucinos 
are glad to sell their pieces of ore, and even pure metal, for 
coin considerably less than their value ; and the traveller is fre- 
quently offered little dumps of silver, and even gold, in exchange 
for money or articles of clothing. 

In this village there was a large empty hacienda de beneficios, 

* Mines were, and are still called reales — royal— being, in the time of the 
Spaniards, the property of the crown. 



chap, xviii.] LOS SAUCILLOS— GAMBUCINOS. 143 

full of scoriae and dross, which covered the floor in heaps, with 
tumble-down furnaces and mouldering apparatus long disused. 
Here I took up my abode, with the permission of an old Indian, 
who, perfectly naked save by a small piece of leather round his 
loins, was superintending some smelting process in a furnace in 
one corner of the building. There was abundance of room for 
myself and animals, who ate their corn out of the washing- 
troughs, and my supper was cooked on a little fire of charcoal 
made on the ground, the old Indian joining me in the repast, 
and telling me long stories of the former riches of the mine, 
and the hundred times that he had been on the point of securing 
bonanzas. He was, he told me, the most scientific man in the 
place, knew the probable value of a lode at first sight, and was 
muy aficionado a los beneficios — very expert in the process of 
extracting metal from ore. There had been a time when he 
made his two and three dollars a-day, and ore was plentiful ; but 
now the sierras were full of " mala gente" — demons and bad 
spirits — who snatched out of their fingers all the metal. He 
knew a mountain, where one had only to strike his pickaxe and 
grub up virgin silver at every blow; but it was presided over 
by a " demonio," whose heart was hard as granite, and who 
changed the silver into lead when a gambucino made his ap- 
pearance. Other sierras there were, he said, muy lejos — very 
far off — where he had been with his father when a boy, and pro- 
cured much silver ; but, shortly after, the Indians made their 
appearance in that country and killed all they found at work, 
and they had never been revisited. Tierra muy rica, y llena 
de plata — a very rich country it was, and full of silver. 

He had, he told me, in his youth worked in the mine of Som- 
brerete, and had earned many a dollar in the bonanzas of the 
celebrated Yeta Negra, the black vein (a lode of metal which 
yielded an extraordinary quantity of silver). He stayed at 
Sombrerete until this lode was worked out, and the cause of its 
failure he narrated to me in the following wonderful story, 
which he related with the utmost gravity and most perfect se- 
riousness. His gesticulations, and the solemn asseverations of 
the truth of the story with which he frequently interrupted it, 
greatly amused me ; and perhaps no more appropriate locale for 
the narration of such a tale could be found, than the spot in 



144 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xviii. 



which we then were sitting. In the large vaulted building, 
with its earthen walls covered with mould, and deep recesses, 
into which the blaze from the fire scarcely penetrated, the old 
Indian sat cowering over the fire, his sharp, attenuated features 
lit up with animation as he narrated his story, stopping occa- 
sionally to puff from his mouth and nose a cloud of tobacco- 
smoke, and drawing round his naked figure a tattered blanket, 
as a cold blast of wind rushed through chinks in the dilapidated 
wall. In nearly these words he repeated 

The Legend of the Black Yein of Sombrerete ("La 
Veta Negra de Sombrerete "). 

" Ojala por los dias de oro ! — oh for the days of gold" — sighed 
the old gambucino : " pero ya se acabo todo eso — but that is 
all over now ; ni oro, ni plata hay — neither gold nor silver 
is to be had now-a-days for picking or digging. Pedazitos, no 
mas — little bits one grubs up here and there ; pero se acabo 
la veta negra — but the black vein, the black vein ; onde esta ? — 
where is it ? Worked out long ago. 

" I was no older than your worship in those days, and my 
back was strong. Yalgame madre santissima ! but I could pack 
the ore nimbly in the mine and up the shaft. Ay, and then all 
worked with a will, for it was all bonanza : day after day, 
month after month, year after year, there w r e were at the same 
old vein ; and the more we cut into it the richer it grew. Ay 
que plata ! Oh what silver came out of that old vein ! bianco, 
rico, pesado — white, rich, and heavy it was — all silver, all silver. 
Five hundred pesos fuertes I made in one week. Que hermosita 
era aquella veta negra I — what a beautiful little vein was that 
black one ! 

" But your worship yawns, and my poor old head turns round 
when it thinks of that time. Piies, senior. All the miners (for 
there were no gambucinos then) were making dollars as fast as 
they could, but the more they got the more they wanted, 
although not one of the laziest but had more than he ever before 
had dreamed of possessing. However, they were not satisfied, 
and all complained because they did not strike a richer vein than 
the old veta negra — as if that was possible ! 

" The most dissatisfied of all the miners was a little deformed 



chap, xviii.] THE BLACK VEIN. 145 

man called Pepito, who did nothing but swear at and curse his 
bad luck, although he had made enough money to last three of 
his lives ; and the miserly style in which he lived was the by- 
word of everybody. 

" However, whether it was from a bitterness of spirit caused 
by his deformity, or from genuine badness of heart, Pepito was 
continually grumbling at the old vein, calling it by every oppro- 
brious epithet which he could summon to the end of his tongue, 
and which was enough to break the heart of any vein, even of 
iron. 

" One night — it was the fiesta of San Lorenzo — all the miners 
were away in the town, for they had agreed to give themselves a 
holiday ; but Pepito took his basket and pick, and declared his 
intention of remaining to work: ' for,' said he, 'what time have 
I for holiday, when, with all my work, work, work, I only get 
enough out of that stony old vein to keep me in frijolitos, with- 
out a taste of pulque, since — quien sabe ? — how long ago ? 
Maldita sea la veta, digo yo — curse such a vein, say I ! 

" Valgame Dios ! — this to the black vein, the black vein of 
Sombrerete !" apostrophized the old gambucino. 

" Now your worship knows, of course (but quien sabe ? for 
foreigners are great fools), that every mine has its metal-king, 
its mina-padre, to whom all the ore belongs. He is, your 
worship knows, not a man, nor a woman, but a spirit — and a 
very good one, if he is not crossed or annoyed ; and when the 
miners curse or quarrel at their work, he often cuts off the vein, 
or changes it to heavy lead or iron ; but when they work well 
and hard, and bring him a good stock of cigarros, or leave him 
in the gallery, when they quit the mine, a little bottle of pulque 
or mezcal, then he often sends bonanzas, and plenty of rich ore. 

" Well, every one said, when they heard Pepito's determina- 
tion to remain alone in the mine, and after he had so foully 
abused the celebrated veta negra, ' Valgame ! if Pepito doesn't 
get a visit from padre-mina to-night, it's because he has borrowed 
holy water or a rosarioncito from father Jose, the cura of Som- 
brerete.' 

" We were all going to work again at midnight, but the 
mezcal was so good that none stirred from the pulqueria long 
after that hour. I, however, shouldered my pick and trudged 

L 



146 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xviii. 

up the hill to the shaft, first waking up the watchman, who lay 
snoring at the gate of the hacienda, wrapped in his sarape. I 
took him with me to the mouth of the shaft, that he might lower 
me down in the basket ; and down I went. When I got to the 
bottom I called to Pepito, for, knowing he was working there, I 
had not brought a lantern, but heard nothing save the echo of 
my own voice, sounding hollow and loud, as it vibrated through 
the passages and galleries of the mine. Thinking he might be 
asleep, I groped my way to where we had been working the 
great lode in the morning, thinking to find him in that direction, 
and hallooing as I crept, but still no answer; and when I 
shouted c Pepito, Pepito, onde esta ?' — where are you ?— the echo 
cried jeeringly, i Onde esta V 

" At length I began to get frightened. Mines, everybody 
knows, are full of devils, and gnomes, and bad spirits of every 
kind; and here was I, at midnight, alone, and touching the 
* black vein ' which had been so abused. I did not like to call 
again to Pepito, for the echo frightened me, and I felt assured 
that the answer was made by some unearthly voice, and came 
direct from the lode of the veta negra, that we were working. 
I crept back to the bottom of the shaft, and, looking up to the 
top, where the sky showed no bigger than a tortilla, with one 
bright star looking straight down, I shouted for the watchman 
to lower the basket and draw me up ; but, holy mother ! my voice 
seemed to knock itself to pieces on the sides of the shaft as it 
struggled up, and when it reached the top must have been a 
whisper. I sat down and fairly cried, when a loud shout of 
laughter rattled along the galleries, and broke as it were up 
the shaft ; I trembled like quicksilver, and heavy drops of per- 
spiration dropped from my forehead to the ground. There was 
another shout of laughter, and a voice cried out — 

" ' Come here, Mattias, come here.' 

" ' Where, most wonderful seiior ?' I asked, thinking it as well 
to be respectful. 

" l Here, here to the black vein, the old leaden, useless vein,' 
cried the voice, mockingly ; and I thought with horror of the 
abuse it had that day received. 

" Half dead with fear, I crept along the gallery, and turning 
an abrupt angle, came upon the lode we had been working. 



chap, xviii.] THE BLACK VEIN. 147 

Ave Maria purissima ! what a sight met my eyes ! The gallery 
seemed a mass of fire, yet there was no blaze and no heat. The 
rock which contained the vein of ore, and the ore itself, were like 
solid fire ; and yet it wasn't fire, for there was no heat, as I said, 
but a glare so bright that one could see aw T ay into the rock, 
which seemed to extend miles and miles ; and every grain of 
quartz, and even the smallest particle of sand, of which it was 
composed, was blazing with light, and shone separately like a 
million diamonds knocked in one ; and yet the eye saw miles 
into the bowels of the earth, and every grain of sand was thus 
lit up. But if the stone, and the grit, and the sand were thus 
fiery bright, and the eye scorched to look upon it, what words 
can describe the glitter of the vein, now of sparkling silver, and 
white, as it were, w r ith flame, but over which a black blush now 
and then shot, and instantaneously disappeared ? It wanted not 
this, however, to tell me that I was looking at the endless veta 
negra, the scorned, abused black vein, which throbbed, miles and 
miles away into the earth, with virgin silver, enough to supply 
the world for worlds to come. 

" < Ha, ha, ha !' roared the voice ; ' the old leaden, useless vein. 
Where's the man that can eat all this silver's worth of frijolitos ? 
Bring him here, bring him here.' And forthwith a thousand little 
sparkling figures jumped out of the scintillating rock, and, spring- 
ing to the ground, ringing like new-coined pesos, they seized 
upon the body of Pepito, which I had not till now observed, who 
lay, blue with fear, in a corner of the gallery, and, lifting him 
on their shoulders, brought him in front of the silver vein. The 
brightness of the metal scorched his eyes, which still could not, 
even in his fear, resist feasting on the richness of the glittering 
lode. 

" i Bonanza, una bonanza !' shouted the enraptured miner, for- 
getting his situation, and the presence he w r as in, for the figure 
(if figure it can be called, which was like a mist of silver fire) 
of the padre-mina — the mine-king— was now seen sitting in state 
on the top of the vein. 

Ci ' Bonanza !' shouted the same voice derisively ; ' bonanza, 
from an old leaden, useless vein P repeating the terms which 
Pepito had used in abusing it. ' Where's the man can eat this 
silver's worth of frijolitos ?' 

l2 



143 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xvm. 

" ' What does he deserve who has thus slighted the silver 
king?' 'Turn him to lead, lead, lead!' answered the voice. 
' Away with him then/ 

" The thousand sparkling silverines seized the struggling 
miner. ' Not lead, not lead,' he shouted ; ' anything but lead V 
But they held him fast by the legs, and bore him opposite the lode. 

" The rock sparkled up into a thousand times more brilliant 
corruscations than before, and for an instant I thought my eyes 
would have ' burned ' with looking at the silver vein, so heavenly 
bright it shone. An instant after a void remained in the rock ; 
a horrid black void. The vein had disappeared, but the rock 
itself was still as bright as ever, all but the black opening which 
yawned from out the brightness ; and opposite this stood the 
thousand silverines, bearing the body of the luckless gambucino. 

" ' Uno, dos, tres* shouted the mine-king ; and at the word 
* tres' — with a hop, skip, and a jump — right into the gaping hollow 
sprang the thousand silverines, with the luckless miner on their 
shoulders, whose body, the instant that his heels disappeared into 
the opening, with these very eyes I saw turned to lead. 

" Santa Maria ! then all became dark, and I fell senseless to 
the ground. 

" When I recovered a little, I thought to myself, now will 
come my turn ; but, hoping to conciliate the angry mine-king, I 
sought, in the breast of my shirt, for a bottle of mezcal, which 
I remembered I had brought with me. There was the bottle, 
but without a single drop of liquor. This puzzled me ; but when 
I called to mind the fiery spectacle I had just witnessed, I felt 
no doubt but that the liquor had been dried up in the bottle by 
the great heat. 

"However, I was not molested, and in a short time the 
miners returned to their work, and, finding me pale and trembling, 
called me tonto, boracho — drunk and mad. We proceeded to 
the lode and grubbed away, but all we succeded in picking out 
were a few lumps of poor lead-ore ; and from that day not a 
dollar's worth of silver was ever drawn from the famous ' black 
vein of Sombrerete.' " 

On the 6th we made a short day's journey to San Pablo, a little 
town on a confluent of the Conchos, in the midst of a marshy 



ciiap. xviii.J SAN PABLO. 149 

plain. Arrived in the plaza, I had despatched my servant in 
search of a corral, and was myself taking care of the animals, 
when a caballero came out of a house in the square, and very 
politely invited me to take up my quarters with him for the night, 
and place the mulada in his stables. This offer I gladly accepted, 
and was presently shown into a large comfortable room, and, 
moreover, invited to dinner with my entertainer and his friends. 
The dinner was served on a table— an unusual luxury ; but knife, 
fork, or spoon, there was none. Before commencing, at a signal 
from his master, the mozo in attendance said a long grace, at the 
conclusion of which every one crossed himself devoutly and fell 
to. One large tumbler of water was placed in the centre of the 
table, but the custom is not to drink until the meal is finished ; 
so that, if a stranger lays hold of the glass during dinner, he is 
instantly stopped by the host, who tells him " que viene otra cosa," 
that something else is coming. 

The next morning I was in the act of making a very long 
entry in my note-book, to the effect that at last I had met with 
hospitality in Mexico, when the mozo presented himself with a 
bill of yesterday's entertainment : seis reales por la comida — 
dinner, six rials — and out came the leaf of my memorandum- 
book, al instante. 

In Guajoquilla I had been tempted to purchase a very beau- 
tiful " enterOj" an alazan, or blood chesnut stallion, with long 
flowing tail and mane, and a perfect specimen of a Mexican 
caballo de paseo ; the most showy and spirited, and at the same 
time most perfectly good-tempered animal I ever mounted, and 
so well trained, that I frequently fired at game, resting the rifle 
on its back, without its moving a muscle. It had travelled, 
without shoes, and over a flinty road, from Guajoquilla, and had 
become so sore-footed that I feared I should be compelled to 
leave it behind me ; but hearing that there was an American 
blacksmith in San Pablo, I paid him a visit for the purpose of 
getting him to shoe the alazan ; but unluckily he had no shoes 
by him, nor the wherewithal to make a set. Strange to say, that 
although at this time the horse was so lame that I feared he had 
foundered altogether, before reaching Chihuahua, and over a 
very hard road, his feet entirely recovered their soundness, and 
the next day he travelled without the slightest difficulty. 



150 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xviit. 

On the 7th, leaving San Pablo, I met a caravan of waggons 
from Chihuahua, with a number of officers and families, who 
were leaving that city from fear of 'the Americans, who were 
reported to be on their way to attack it. Amongst the party 
was the celebrated Andalucian matador Bernardo, who with his 
troop of bullfighters had been lately attacked by the Indians, 
and nearly all of them killed — himself escaping after a desperate 
sword-fight and many severe wounds. We passed the Canada, 
a deep ravine, through which runs a small stream, and where are 
the ruins of an Indian fort. It is dreaded by travellers, as here 
the Indians attack them from behind rocks, without exposure to 
themselves. In the Canada we met a couple of priests, with 
several pupils, on their way to Durango college : they were all 
well mounted and armed. Shortly after passing the deserted 
rancho of Bachimba, we met a General with his escort, " making 
himself scarce " from Chihuahua ; and as they were in the act of 
encamping, and not wishing to remain in the neighbourhood of 
the pilfering soldados, I rode on, although it was then sunset, and 
encamped several miles beyond, where unluckily the stream was 
dry, and no water procurable. 

The next morning, at sunrise, we started for Chihuahua, 
crossing a plain abounding with antelope, and reached that city 
about two o'clock. The first appearance of the town from a 
neighbouring hill is extremely picturesque, its white houses, 
church-spires, and the surrounding gardens, affording a pleasing 
contrast to the barren plain which surrounds it. I was most 
hospitably received by an English family resident in the town, 
who have the exclusive management of the mint and the numerous 
mines in the neighbourhood. In this remote and but semi-civilised 
city, I was surprised to find that they had surrounded themselves 
with all the comforts, and many of the luxuries, of an English 
home ; and the kindness I here experienced almost spoiled me 
for the hardships and privations I met with in my subsequent 
journey. 



chap, xix.] CHIHUAHUA. 151 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Chihuahua — Trade — Indian Attacks — Massacre of Indians — Horrid Bar- 
barity — Game — Insects — The Zacatero — Shrubs — Mezquit — Want of 
Trees— Invasion of Americans — The Caravana — Mexican Escort — Sacra- 
mento. 

Chihuahua, the capital city of the state or department of that 
name, was built towards the close of the seventeenth century ; and 
therefore cannot boast of such antiquity even as the more remote 
city of Santa Fe. Its population is between eight and ten thou- 
sand permanent inhabitants ; although it is the resort of many 
strangers from New Mexico, California, and Sonora. The 
cathedral, which is considered by the American traders one of 
the finest structures in the world, is a large building in no style 
of architecture, but with rather a handsome facade, embellished 
with statues of the twelve apostles. 

Opposite the principal entrance, over the portals which form 
one side of the square, were dangling the grim scalps of one 
hundred and seventy Apaches, who had lately been most trea- 
cherously and inhumanly butchered by the Indian hunters in the 
pay of the state. The scalps of men, women, and children, were 
brought into the town in procession, and hung as trophies, in this 
conspicuous situation, of Mexican valour and humanity ! 

The unfinished convent of San Francisco, commenced by the 
Jesuits prior to their expulsion from the country, is also a con- 
spicuous mass of masonry and bad taste. It is celebrated as 
having been the place of confinement of the patriot Hidalgo, the 
Mexican Hampden, who was executed in a yard behind the 
building in 1811. A monument to his memory has been erected 
in the Plaza de Armas, a pyramid of stone, with an inscription 
eulogistic of that one honest Mexican. 

The town also boasts a Casa de 3Ioneda, or mint, under the 
management of an English gentleman, where silver, gold, and 
copper are coined^ and an aduana, or customhouse. An aqueduct 



152 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xix. 

conveys water to the city from the neighbouring stream, the 
work of the former Spanish government : it is small, and badly 
constructed. 

The shops are filled with goods of the most paltry description, 
brought mostly from the United States by way of Santa Fe. The 
cotton goods called " domestics " in the United States are, how- 
ever, of good quality, and in great demand. Traders arriving in 
Chihuahua either sell their goods in bulk to resident merchants, 
or, opening a store, retail them on their own account ; but the 
latter method occasions great delay and inconvenience, the pay- 
ments being made in copper and small coins, which it is difficult 
to exchange for gold, and are not current out of the state. 

The trade between the United States and Santa Fe and Chi- 
huahua presents a curious feature in international commerce. 
The capital embarked in it must exceed a million of dollars, 
which, however, is subject to great risks, not only on account of 
the dangers to be apprehended in passing the vast prairies, both 
from Indian attacks and the loss of animals by the severity of the 
climate, but from the uncertainty of the laws in force in the 
remote departments of Mexico with regard to the admission of 
goods and the duties exacted on them. 

It appears that in the " port " of Santa Fe the ordinary 
derechos de arancel, or customs duties, have been laid aside, 
and a new tariff substituted, by the late Governor Armijo, who, 
instead of levying the usual ad valorem duties on goods imported 
from the United States, established the system of exacting duties 
on " waggon-loads, 9 ' without reference to the nature of the 
goods contained in them, each waggon paying 500 dollars, 
whether large or small. The injustice of such an impost was 
apparent, since the merchant, who carried an assortment of rich 
and valuable goods into the interior of the country for the fair 
of San Juan and the markets of the capital and larger cities, 
paid the same duty as the petty trader on his waggon-load of 
trumpery for the Santa Fe market. 

Moreover, the revenue of the customs must have suffered in 
an equal ratio, for the traders, to avoid the duties, crowded two 
or more ordinary waggon-loads into one huge one, and thus 
saved the duties on two waggons. Notwithstanding this, how- 
ever, the system still prevails, much to the dissatisfaction of 



chap.xixO CHIHUAHUA—TRADE. 153 



those who, in the former state of things, could, by the skilful ap- 
plication of a bribe, pass any amount of goods at almost nominal 
expense. 

The state of Chihuahua produces gold, silver, copper, iron, 
saltpetre, &c. ; indeed, it is productive in mineral wealth alone, 
for the soil is thin and poor, and there is everywhere a great 
scarcity of water. It is, moreover, infested with hostile Indians, 
who ravage the whole country, and prevent many of its most 
valuable mines from being worked. These Indians are the 
Apaches, who inhabit the ridges and plains of the Cordillera, 
the Sierra Madre on the west, and the tracts between the Con- 
chos and Del Norte on the east, while scattered tribes roam 
over all parts of the state, committing devastations on the 
ranchos and haciendas, and depopulating the remote villages. 

For the purpose of carrying on a war against the daring 
savages a species of company was formed by the Chihuahuenos, 
with a capital raised by subscription. This company, under the 
auspices of the government, offered a bounty of 50 dollars a 
scalp, as an inducement to people to undertake a war of exter- 
mination against the Apaches. One Don Santiago Kirker, an 
Irishman, long resident in Mexico, and for many years a trapper 
and Indian trader in the far west, whose exploits in Indian 
killing would fill a volume, was placed at the head of a band of 
some hundred and fifty men, including several Shawanee and 
Delaware Indians, and sent en campana against the Apaches. 
The fruits of the campaign were the trophies I saw dangling in 
front of the cathedral. 

In the month of August, the Apaches being then " en paz " 
with the state, entered, unarmed, the village of Galeana, for the 
purpose of trading. This band, which consisted of a hundred and 
seventy, including women and children, was under the command 
of a celebrated chief, and had no doubt committed many atrocities 
on the Mexicans ; but at this time they had signified their desire 
for peace to the government of Chihuahua, and were now trading 
in good faith, and under protection of the faith of treaty. News 
of their arrival having been sent to Kirker, he immediately for- 
warded several kegs of spirits, with which they were to be 
regaled, and detained in the village until he could arrive with 
his band. On a certain day, about ten in the morning, the 



154 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xix. 



Indians being at the time drinking, dancing, and amusing them- 
selves, and unarmed, Kirker sent forward a messenger to say- 
that at such an hour he would be there. 

The Mexicans, when they saw him approach with his party, 
suddenly seized their arms and set upon the unfortunate Indians, 
who, without even their knives, attempted no resistance, but, 
throwing themselves on the ground when they saw Kirker's men 
surrounding them, submitted to tneir fate. The infuriated 
Mexicans spared neither age nor sex ; with fiendish shouts they 
massacred their unresisting victims, glutting their long pent-up 
revenge of many years of persecution. One woman, big with 
child, rushed into the church, clasping the altar and crying for 
mercy for herself and unborn babe. She was followed, and fell 
pierced with a dozen lances ; and then (it is almost impossible to 
conceive such an atrocity, but I had it from an eye-witness on 
the spot not two months after the tragedy) the child was torn 
alive from the yet palpitating body of its mother, first plunged 
into the holy water to be baptized, and immediately its brains 
were dashed out against a wall. 

A hundred and sixty men, women, and children were slaugh- 
tered, and, with the scalps carried on poles, Kirker's party entered 
Chihuahua — in procession, headed by the Governor and priests, 
with bands of music escorting them in triumph to the town. 

Nor is this a solitary instance of similar barbarity, for on two 
previous occasions parties of American traders and trappers per- 
petrated most treacherous atrocities on tribes of the same nation 
on the river Gila. The Indians on their part equal their more 
civilized enemies in barbarity ; and such is the war of extermina- 
tion carried on between the Mexicans and Apaches. 

But to return to Chihuahua. The state, which comprises an 
area of 107,584 square miles, contains only 180,000 inhabitants 
(and this is probably an exaggerated estimate), or not two inha- 
bitants to the square mile. Of this vast territory not twenty 
square miles are under cultivation, and at least three-fifths is 
utterly sterile and unproductive. The city of Chihuahua is 
distant from Mexico, in a direct line, 1250 miles, and from the 
nearest seaport, Guaymas, in the Gulf of California, over an 
almost impracticable country, 600 miles. Thus its isolated posi- 
tion, and comparative worthlessness to Mexico, are apparent. 



chap, xix.] CHIHUAHUA— GAME— INSECTS. 155 

Chihuahua is a paradise for sportsmen. In the sierras and 
mountains are found two species of bears — the common black or 
American bear, and the grizly bear of the Rocky Mountains. 
The last are the most numerous, and are abundant in the sierras 
in the neighbourhood of Chihuahua. The carnero cimarron — 
the big-horn or Rocky Mountain sheep— is also common on the 
Cordillera. Elk, black-tailed deer, cola-prieta (a large species of 
the fallow deer), the common red deer of America, and antelope, 
abound on all the plains and sierras. Of smaller game, peccaries 
(javali), also called cojamete, hares, and rabbits are everywhere 
numerous ; and beavers are still found in the Gila, the Pecos, 
the Del Norte, and their tributary streams. Of birds — the 
faisan, commonly called paisano, a species of pheasant : the 
quail, or rather a bird between a quail and a partridge, is 
abundant ; while every variety of snipe and plover is found on 
the plains, not forgetting the gmya, of the crane kind, whose 
meat is excellent. There are also two varieties of wolf — the 
white, or mountain wolf; and the coyote, or small wolf of the 
plains, whose long-continued and melancholy howl is an in- 
variable adjunct to a Mexican night encampment. 

But, perhaps, in all departments of natural history the ento- 
mologist would find the plains of Chihuahua most prolific 
in specimens. I have counted seventy-five varieties of grass- 
hoppers and locusts, some of enormous size and most brilliant 
and fantastic colours. There is also an insect peculiar to this 
part of Mexico — at least I have not met with it excepting on the 
plains of Durango and Chihuahua, neither have I met with more 
than one traveller who has observed it, although it is most curious 
and worthy of attention. 

This insect is from four to six inches in length, and has four 
long and slender legs. The body appears to the naked eye to 
be nothing more than a blade of grass, without the slightest mus- 
cular action or appearance of vitality, excepting in the antennae, 
which are two in number, and about half an inch in length. 
They move very slowly on their long legs, and resemble a blade 
of grass being carried by ants. I saw them several times before 
examining them minutely, thinking that they were in fact bits 
of grass. I heard of no other name for them than the local 
one of zacateros, from zacate (grass) ; and the Mexicans assert 



156 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xix. 

that, if horses or mules swallow these insects, they invariably 
die.* 

Of bugs and beetles there is endless variety — including the 
cocuyo or lantern-bug, and the tarantula. 

Of reptiles those most frequently met with are the rattlesnake 
and copper-head, both of which are poisonous. The scorpion is 
common all over the republic, and its sting is sometimes fatal to 
children or persons of inflammable temperament. The cameleon 
abounds in the plains, a grotesque, but harmless and inoffensive 
animal. It always assimilates its colour to that of the soil where 
it is found. The cameleon is the " horned frog" of the prairies 
of America. 

The characteristic shrub on the plains of Chihuahua is the 
mezquit — a species of acacia, which grows to the height of ten 
or twelve feet. The seeds, contained in a small pod, resemble 
those of the laburnum, and are used by the Apaches to make a 
kind of bread or cake, which is sweet and pleasant to the taste. 
The wood is exceedingly hard and heavy. f This constantly 
recurring and ugly shrub becomes quite an eyesore to the tra- 
veller passing the mezquit-covered plains, as it is the only thing 
in the shape of a tree seen for hundreds of miles, excepting here 
and there a solitary alamo or willow, which overhangs a spring, 
and which invariably gives a name to the rancho or hacienda 
which may generally be found in the vicinity of water. Thus 
day after day I passed the ranchos of El Sauz, Los Sauzes, Los 
Sauzillos — the willow, the willows, the little willows — or El 
Alamo, Los Alamitos — the poplar, the little poplars. The last 
is the only timber found on the streams in Northern Mexico, and 
on the Del Norte and the Arkansa it grows to a great size. 

Chihuahua at this time was in a state of considerable ferment, 
on account of the anticipated advance of the Americans upon the 
city from New Mexico. That department had been occupied 
by them without opposition, Governor Armijo and his three 
thousand heroes scattering before the barbarians of the north, as 
they please to call the Americans, without firing a shot. A body 

* Since writing the above, I find that this insect is noticed in Clavigero, 
who calls it, on the authority of Hernandez, quauhmecatl, a Mexican name 
therefore it is probable that it is also found in Southern Mexico. 

f From the mezquit exudes gum Arabic. 



chap, xix.] CHIHUAHUA— THE CARAVANA. 157 

of troops had now advanced to the borders of the department, 
and were known to be encamped on the Rio del Norte, at the 
entrance of the " Jornada del Muerto"— the deadman's journey 
— a tract of desert, without wood or water, which extends nearly 
one hundred miles across a bend of the river ; and a journey 
across which is dreaded by the Mexicans, not only on account of 
these natural difficulties, but from the fact of its being the haunt 
of numerous bands of Apaches, who swoop down from the sierras 
upon travellers, who, with their exhausted animals, have but little 
chance of escape. 

In rear of the American troops was the long-expected cara- 
vana of upwards of two hundred waggons, destined for Chihuahua 
and the fair of San Juan. These, entering Santa Fe with the 
troops, had of course paid no duty in that port of entry, and 
it was a great object with the Governor of Chihuahua that they 
should proceed to that city and pay the usual duties to him, 
which otherwise would have been payable to the customhouse of 
Santa Fe. The government being entirely without funds, and 
anxious to raise and equip a body of troops to oppose the advance 
of the Americans, the arrival of the caravan would have been 
most opportime, since, at the usual rate of duties, viz. 500 dollars 
for each waggon, the amount to be received by the government 
would exceed 100,000 dollars. 

However, the merchants, particularly the Americans, were 
reluctant to trust their property to the chances of Mexican ho- 
nour, not knowing how they might be treated under the present 
circumstances of war : and having neglected to profit by the per- 
mission of General Kearnev, who then commanded the United 
States troops, to proceed to their destination ; now, that that 
officer had advanced to California, and the command had de- 
volved on another, they were ordered to remain in rear of the 
troops, and not to advance excepting under their escort. The 
commanding officer deemed it imprudent to allow such an amount 
of the sinews of war to be placed in the hands of the enemy, to 
be used against the Americans. That this was very proper un- 
der the circumstances there could be no gainsaying, but at the 
same time there was a very large amount of property belonging 
to English merchants and others of neutral nations, who were 
suffering enormous losses by the detention of their goods ; and as 



158 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xix. 

no official notification had been given of the blockade of the fron- 
tier town of Santa Fe, this prohibition to proceed was considered 
unjust and arbitrary. My opinion, however, is, that the officer 
in command of the United States troops was perfectly justified 
in the course he pursued, knowing well the uses to which the 
money thus obtained would have been applied. 

In order to keep the enemy in ignorance of the state of affairs 
in Chihuahua, no one had been permitted to leave the state for 
some months ; and when it was known that I had received a carte 
blanche from Don Angel Trias, the Governor, to proceed where 
I pleased, I was from this circumstance invested with all kinds 
of official dignities by the population. As it was known that I 
was the bearer of sundry despatches from the Governor to the 
Americans, I was immediately voted to be commissionado on the 
part of the Mexican government to treat for peace, or I was un 
coronel Yngles, bound to Oregon to settle the difference respect- 
ing that disputed territory. The mysterious fact of an English- 
man travelling through the country at such a time, and being 
permitted to proceed " al norte," which permission their most 
influential citizens had been unable to obtain, was sufficient to 
put the curious on the qui-vive ; and when on the morning of 
my departure an escort of soldiers was seen drawn up at my door, 
I was immediately promoted to be " somebody." This escort — 
save the mark ! — consisted of two or three dragoons of the regi- 
ment of Vera Cruz, which had been several years in Santa Fe, 
but had run away with the Governor on the approach of the 
Americans, and were now stationed at Chihuahua. Their horses — 
wretched, half-starved animals — were borrowed for the occasion ; 
and the men, refusing to march without some provision for the 
road, were advanced their " sueldo" by a patriotic merchant of 
the town, who gave each a handful of copper coins, which they 
carefully tied up in the corners of their sarapes. Their dress 
was original and uniform (in rags). One had on a dirty broad- 
brimmed straw hat, another a handkerchief tied round his head. 
One had a portion of a jacket, another was in his shirt-sleeves, 
with overalls, open to the winds, reaching a little below the 
knees. All were bootless and unspurred. One had a rusty sword 
and lance, another a gun without a hammer, the third a bow and 
arrows. Although the nights were piercingly cold, they had 



chap, xix.] SACRAMENTO. 159 

but one wretched, tattered sarape of the commonest kind between 
them, and no rations of any description. 

These were regulars of the regiment of Yera Cruz. I may 
as well here mention that, two or three months after, Colonel 
Doniphan, with 900 volunteers, marched through the state of 
Chihuahua, defeating on one occasion 3000 Mexicans with 
great slaughter, and taking the city itself, without losing one 
man in the campaign. 

At Sacramento the Mexicans entrenched themselves behind 
formidable breastworks, having ten or twelve pieces of artillery 
in battery, and numbering at least 3000. Will it be believed 
that these miserable creatures were driven from their position, 
and slaughtered like sheep, by 900 raw backwoodsmen, who 
did not lose one single man in the encounter ? 



160 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xx. 



CHAPTER XX. 

Leave Chihuahua — Coursing a Coyote — El Sauz — Lone Tree — Los Sauzillos 
— Death of the Alazan — Encinillas — El Carmen — Carrizal — Preparing a 
Feast — Many a Slip, &c. — Fountain of the Star — New Mexicans — Sand 
Mountain — Arrive at El Paso. 

On the 10th of November I left Chihuahua, bound for the 
capital of New Mexico. Passing the Rancho del Sacramento, 
where a few months after the Missourians slaughtered a host of 
Mexicans, we entered a large plain well covered with grass, on 
which were immense flocks of sheep. A coyote lazily crossed 
the road, and, stopping within a few yards, sat down upon its 
haunches, and coolly regarded us as we passed. Panchito had 
had a four days' rest, and was in fine condition and spirits, and 
I determined to try the mettle of the wolf; the level plain, with 
its springy turf, offering a fine field for a course. Cantering 
gently at first, the coyote allowed me to approach within a hundred 
yards before he loped lazily away ; but finding I was on his 
traces, he looked round, and, gathering himself up, bowled away 
at full speed. Then I gave Panchito the spur, and, answering it 
with a bound, we were soon at the stern of the wolf. Then, for 
the first time, the animal saw we were in earnest, and, with a 
sweep of his bushy tail, pushed for his life across the plain. At 
the distance of two or three miles a rocky ridge was in sight, 
where he evidently thought to secure a retreat, but Panchito 
bounded along like the wind itself, and soon proved to the wolf 
that his race was run. After trying in vain to double, he made 
one desperate rush, upon which, lifting Panchito with rein and leg, 
we came up and passed the panting beast, when, seeing that 
escape was impossible, he lay down, and, with sullen and 
cowardly resignation, curled up for the expected blow, as pistol 
in hand I reined up Panchito at his side. However, I was 
merciful, and allowed the animal to escape. 

At ten at night I arrived at the hacienda of El Sauz, belong- 



chap, xx.] LOS SAUZILLOS— ENCINILLAS. 161 

ing to the Governor of Chihuahua, Don Angel Trias. It was 
enclosed with a high wall, as a protection from the Indians, who, 
a short time before, had destroyed the cattle of the hacienda, 
filling a well in the middle of the corral with the carcases of 
slaughtered sheep and oxen. It was still bricked up. 

The next day we proceeded to another hacienda, likewise 
called after the willows, Los Sauzillos. Passing a large plain, in 
the midst of which stood a lone poplar, wolves were con- 
tinually crossing the road, both the coyote and the large grey 
variety. I was this day mounted upon the alazan which I had 
purchased at Guajoquilla. We were within sight of our halting- 
place for the night, when the horse, which had carried me all 
day without my having had recourse to whip or spur, suddenly 
began to flag, and I noticed that a profuse perspiration had 
broken out on its ears and neck. I instantly dismounted, and 
perceived a quivering in the flank and a swelling of the belly. 
Before I could remove the saddle the poor beast fell down, and, 
although I opened a vein and made every attempt to relieve it, 
it once more rose to its legs, and, spinning round in the greatest 
apparent agony, fell dead to the ground. 

The cause of its death was, that my servant, contrary to my 
orders, had given the animals young corn the night before, 
which food is often fatal to horses not accustomed to feed on 
grain. 

This rancho is situated on the margin of a lake of brackish 
water, and we found the people actual prisoners within its walls, 
the gates being closed, and a man stationed on the azotea with a 
large wall-piece, looking out for Indians. At night a large fire 
was kindled on the roof, the blaze of which illuminated the 
country far and near. £sot a soul would venture after sunset 
outside the gate, which the majordomo, a Gachupin, refused to 
open to allow my servant to procure some wood for afire to cook 
my supper, and we had to content ourselves with one of corn- 
cobs, which lay scattered about the corral. 

On the 12th, passing Encinillas, a large hacienda belonging 
to Don Angel Trias, we encamped on the banks of an arroyo, 
running through the middle of a plain, walled by sierras, where 
the Apaches have several villages. This being very dangerous 
ground, we put out the fire at sunset, and took all precautions 

M 



162 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xx. 



against surprise. The animals fared badly, the grass being thin 
and burned up by the sun, and what little there was being of 
bad quality. 

The next day we reached the small village of El Carmen, and, 
camping by a little thread of a rivulet outside of the town, were 
surrounded by all the loafers of the village. The night was 
very cold, and our fire, the fuel for which we purchased, was 
completely surrounded by these idle vagabonds. At last, my 
temper being frozen out of me, I went up to the fire, and said, 
" Senores, allow me to present you with three rials, which will 
enable you to purchase wood for two fires; this fire I will be 
obliged to you if you will allow myself and fellow-travellers to 
warm ourselves by, as we are very cold ; and also, with your 
kind permission, wish to cook our suppers by it." This was 
enough for them: a Mexican, like a Spaniard, is very sensi- 
tive, and the hint went through them. They immediately 
dispersed, and I saw no more of them the remainder of the 



evening. 



Near El Carmen is a pretty little stream, fringed with alamos, 
which runs through a wild and broken country of sierras. The 
plains, generally about ten to twenty miles in length, are divided 
from each other by an elevated ridge, but there is no perceptible 
difference in the elevation of them from Chihuahua to El Paso. 
The road is level excepting in crossing these ridges, and hard 
everywhere except on the marshy plain of Encinillas, which is 
often inundated. This lake has no outlet, and is fed by numerous 
small streams from the sierras ; its length is ten miles, by three 
in breadth. The marshy ground around the lake is covered 
with an alkaline efflorescence called tezquite, a substance of 
considerable value. The water, impregnated with salts, is 
brackish and unpleasant to the taste, but in the rainy season 
loses its disagreeable properties. 

On the 14th we travelled sixty miles, and camped on a bare 
plain without wood or water, the night being so dark that we 
were unable to reach Carrizal, although it was but a few miles 
distant from our encampment. The next morning we reached 
the village, where I stopped the whole day, during an extra- 
ordinary hurricane of wind, which rendered travelling impossible. 
We had been on short commons for two days, as the hungry 



chap, xx.] CARRIZAL— PREPARING A FEAST. 163 

escort had devoured my provisions, but here I resolved to have 
a feast, and, setting all hands to forage, on return we found 
our combined efforts had produced an imposing pile of several 
yards of beef (for here the meat is cut into long strips and 
dried), onions, chiles, frijoles, sweet corn, eggs, &c. An enor- 
mous olla was procured, and everything was bundled pell-mell 
into it, seasoned with pepper and salt and chile. 

To protect the fire from the hurricane that was blowing, all 
the packs and saddles were piled round it, and my servant and 
the soldiers relieved each other in their vigilant watch of the 
precious compound, myself superintending the process of cook- 
ing. Our appetites, ravenous with a fast of twenty-four hours, 
were in first-rate order, but we determined that the pot should 
be left on the fire until the savoury mess was perfectly cooked. 
It was within an hour or two of sunset, and we had not yet 
broken our fast. The olla simmered, and a savoury steam per- 
vaded the air. The dragoons licked their lips, and their eyes 
watered — never had they had such a feast in perspective ; for 
myself, I never removed my eyes from the pot, and had just re- 
solved that, when the puro in my mouth was smoked out, 
the puchero would have attained perfection. At length the 
moment arrived : my mozo, with a blazing smile, approached 
the fire, and with guarded hands seized the top of the olla. and 
lifted it from the ashes. 

" Ave Maria Purissima ! Santissima Yirgen !" broke from 
the lips of the dragoons ; " Mil carajos !" burst from the heart 
of the mozo ; and I sank almost senseless to the ground. On 
lifting the pot the bottom fell out, and splash went everything 
into the blazing fire. Valgame Dios ! what a moment was that ! 
Stupified, and hardly crediting our senses, we gazed at the burn- 
ing, frizzling, hissing remnants, as they were consuming before 
our eyes. Nothing was rescued, and our elaborate feast was 
simplified into a supper of frijoles and chile Colorado, which, after 
some difficulty, we procured from the village. 

The next morning we started before daylight, and at sunrise 
watered our animals at the little lake called Laguna de Patos, 
from the ducks which frequent it ; and at midday we halted at 
another spring, the Ojo de la Estrella — star spring — where we 
again watered them, as we should be obliged to camp that night 

m2 



164 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xx. 

without water. We chose a camping-ground in a large plain 
covered with mezquit, which afforded us a little fuel — now 
become very necessary, as the nights were piercingly cold. As 
we had been unable to procure provisions in Carrizal, we went 
to bed supperless, which was now a very usual occurrence. 
My animals suffered from the cold, which, coming as they did 
from the tierra caliente, they felt excessively, particularly a little 
blood horse with an exceedingly fine coat. I was obliged to share 
my blankets with this poor animal, or I believe it would have 
died in the night. 

Just at daybreak the next morning I was riding in advance of 
the party, when I met a cavalcade of horsemen whose wild cos- 
tume, painted faces, and arms consisting of bows and arrows, 
made me think at first that they were Indians. On their part, 
they evidently did not know what to make of me, and halted 
while two of them rode forward to reconnoitre. I quickly 
slipped the cover off my rifle, and advanced. Seeing my 
escort following, they saw we were amigos ; but the nearer 
they approached me, the more certain was I that they were 
Apaches, for they were all in Indian dress, and frightfully 
painted. I was as nearly as possible shooting the foremost, when 
he exclaimed in Spanish, " Adios, amigo ! que novedades hay ?" and 
I then saw a number of mules, packed with bales and barrels, 
behind him. They were Pasenos, on their way to Chihuahua, 
with aguardiente, raisins, and fruit ; and shortly after passing 
them, I found in the road a large bag of pazas or raisins, which 
I pounced upon as a great prize, and, waiting until the escort 
came up, we dismounted, and, sitting at the roadside, devoured 
the fruit with great gusto, as this was our second day of banyan. 
This bag lasted for many days, I found the raisins a great 
improvement to stews, &c, and we popped a handful or two into 
every dish. 

At ten o'clock we reached a muddy hole of water, entirely 
frozen — my animals refusing to drink, being afraid of the ice 
after we had broken it. The water was as thick as pea-soup ; 
nevertheless we filled our huages with it, as we should probably 
meet with none so good that day. Towards sunset we passed a 
most extraordinary mountain of loose shifting sand, three miles 
in breadth, and, according to the Pasenos, sixty in length. The 



chap, xx.] EL PASO. 165 

huge rolling' mass of sand is nearly destitute of vegetation, save 
here and there a bunch of greasewood half-buried in the sand. 
Road there is none, but a track across is marked by the skeletons 
and dead bodies of oxen, and of mules and horses, which every- 
where meet the eye. On one ridge the upper half of a human 
skeleton protruded from the sand, and bones of animals and car- 
cases in every stage of decay. The sand is knee -deep, and con- 
stantly shifting, and pack-animals have great difficulty in passing. 
After sunset we reached a dirty, stagnant pool, known as the 
" Ojo de Malay uca ;" but, as there was not a blade of grass in the 
vicinity, we were compelled to turn out of the road and search 
over the arid plain for a patch to camp in. At last we succeeded 
in finding a spot, and encamped, without wood, water, or supper, 
being the second day's fast. The next day, passing a broken 
country, perfectly barren, we struck into the valley of El Paso, 
and for the first time I saw the well-timbered bottom of the Rio 
Bravo del Norte. Descending a ridge covered with greasewood 
and mezquit, we entered the little village of El Paso, with its 
vineyards and orchards and well-cultivated gardens lying along 
the right bank of the river. 

On entering the plaza I was immediately surrounded by a 
crowd, for my escort had ridden before me and mystified them 
with wonderful accounts of my importance. However, as I did 
not choose to enlighten them as to my destination or the object 
of my journey, they were fain to rest satisfied with the egregious 
lies of the dragones. In the plaza was a little guard-house, 
where a ferocious captain was in command of a dirty dozen or 
two of soldados. This worthy, to show his importance, sent a 
serjeant to order my instant attendance at the guard-room. In 
as many words I told the astonished messenger to tell his officer 
" to go to the devil ;" to his horror, and the delight of the sur- 
rounding crowd. The answer was delivered word for word, but 
I heard no more from the military hero. My next visitor was 
the " prefecto," who is an important personage in a small place. 
That worthy, with a dignified air, asked in a determined tone, as 
much as to say to the crowd " See how soon I will learn his 
business " — 

" Por onde pasa usted, caballero ?" — Where are you bound ? 

" Por Santa Fe y Nuevo Mejico," I answered. 



166 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xx. 

" No, senor," he immediately rejoined, " this cannot be per- 
mitted : by the order of the Governor no one is allowed to go to 
the north ; and I must request, moreover, that you exhibit your 
passport and other documentos." 

" Hi lo tiene usted " — here you have it — I answered, producing 
a credential which at once caused the hat to fly from his head, 
and an offer of himself, su casa, y todo lo que tiene, a mi dis- 
posicion — his house, and all in it, at my disposal. However, all 
his munificent offers were declined, as I had letters to the cura, 
a young priest named Ortiz, whose unbounded hospitality I en- 
joyed during my stay. 



chap, xxi.] EL PASO. 167 



CHAPTER XXI. 

First Settlement of El Paso — Fertility of Valley — American Prisoners — 
Treachery of a Guide — Leave El Paso — Eagged Escort — Camp on Kio 
Grande— Valley of the Kio Grande — Indian Sign — Dead Man's Journey 
— Animals suffer from Thirst — System of Plains — Traders' Camp — 
Hunting — Scarcity of Provisions — Missourians' Camp — Americans as 
Soldiers — Officers — Game — Indian Depredations — A Painter — Turkey 
hunting — On my own Hook — Mules and Mule-packing. 

El Paso del Norte, so called from the ford of that river, 
which is here first struck and crossed on the way to New 
Mexico, is the oldest settlement in Northern Mexico, a mission 
having been established there by el padre Fray Augustin Ruiz, 
one of the Franciscan monks who first visited New Mexico, as 
early as the close of the sixteenth century (about the year 1585). 
Fray Ruiz, in company with two others, named Venabides and 
Marcos, discovering in the natives a laudable disposition to 
receive the word of God and embrace " la santa fe Catolica," 
remained here a considerable time, preaching by signs to the 
Indians, and making many miraculous conversions. Eventually, 
Venabides having returned to Spain and given a glowing 
account of the riches of the country, and the muy buen indole — 
the very proper disposition of the aborigines — Don Juan Onate 
was despatched to conquer, take possession of, and govern the 
remote colony, and on his way to Santa Fe established a per- 
manent settlement at El Paso. Twelve families from Old Castile 
accompanied Onate to Nuevo Mejico to form a colony, and their 
descendants still remain scattered over the province. 

Several years after, when the Spanish colonists were driven 
out of New Mexico, they retreated to El Paso, where they 
erected a fortification, and maintained themselves until the 
arrival of reinforcements from Mexico. The present settlement 
is scattered for about fifteen miles along the right bank of the 
Del Norte, and contains five or six thousand inhabitants. The 



168 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxi. 

plaza, or village, of El Paso, is situated at the head of the valley, 
and at the other extremity is the presidio of San Eleazario. 
Between the two is a continued line of adobe houses, with their 
plots of garden and vineyard. 

The farms seldom contain more than twenty acres, each family 
having a separate house and plot of land. 

The Del Norte is dammed about a mile above the ford, and 
water is conveyed by an acequia madre — main canal — to irrigate 
the valley. From this acequia, other smaller ones branch out 
in every direction, until the land is intersected in every part 
with dikes, and is thus rendered fertile and productive. 

The soil produces wheat, maize, and other grains, and is 
admirably adapted to the growth of the vine, which is cultivated 
here, and yields abundantly ; and a wine of excellent flavour is 
made from the grapes. Brandy of a tolerable quality is also 
manufactured, and, under the name of aguardiente del Paso, is 
highly esteemed in Durango and Chihuahua. Under proper 
management wine-making here might become a very profitable 
branch of trade, as the interior of Mexico is now supplied with 
French wines, the cost of which, owing to the long land-carriage 
from the seaports, is enormous, and wine might be made from 
the Paso grape equal to the best growths of France or Spain. 
Fruits of all kinds, common to temperate regions, and vegetables, 
are abundant and of good quality. 

The river bottom is timbered with cotton-woods, which extend 
a few hundred yards on each side the banks. The river itself is 
here a small turbid stream, with water of a muddy red, but in 
the season of the rains it is swollen to six times its present breadth, 
and frequently overflows the banks. It is of fordable depth in 
almost any part ; but, from the constantly shifting quicksands 
and bars, is always difficult, and often dangerous, to cross with 
loaded waggons. It abounds with fish and eels of large size. 
The houses of the Pasenos are built of the adobe, and are small, 
bu* clean and neatly kept. Here, as everywhere else in Northern 
Mexico, the people are in constant fear of Indian attacks, and, 
from the frequent devastations of the Apaches, the valley has 
been almost swept of horses, mules, and cattle. The New Mexi- 
cans too, disguised as Indians, often plunder these settlements 
(as occurred during my visit, when two were captured), and 



chap, xxi.] EL PASO— AMERICAN PRISONERS. 169 

frequently accompany the Apaches in their raids on the state of 
Chihuahua. — " Cosas de Mejico." 

At this time the Pasenos had enrolled themselves into a body 
of troops termed " auxiliares" 700 strong ; but in spite of 
them the Apaches attacked a mulada at the outskirts of the 
town, and, but for the bravery of two negroes, runaway slaves 
from the Cherokee nation, would have succeeded in carrying off 
the whole herd ; this was during my stay in this part of the 
country. One of the herders was killed, but the negroes, when 
the animals were already in the hands of the Indians, seized their 
rifles and came to the rescue, succeeding in recapturing the 
mulada. 

At El Paso I found four Americans, prisoners at large. They 
had arrived here on their way to California, with a mountain 
trapper as their guide, who, from some disagreement respecting 
the amount of pay he was to receive, thought proper to revenge 
himself by denouncing them as spies, and they were consequently 
thrown into prison. It being subsequently discovered that the 
informer had committed the most barefaced perjury, these men 
were released, and the denouncer confined in their stead — quite 
an un-Mexican act of justice. However, as they had arrived 
unprovided with passports, they were detained as prisoners, 
although permitted to go at large about the place, living, or 
rather existing, on charity. Their baggage had been taken from 
them, their animals sold, and they were left to shift for them- 
selves. I endeavoured to procure their liberty, by offering to 
take them with me, and guarantee their good conduct while in 
the country, and also that they would not take up arms against 
the Mexicans ; but this having no effect, and as the poor fellows 
were in a wretched condition, I advised them to run for it, pro- 
mising to pick them up on the road and supply them with the 
necessary provision, and cautioning them at the same time to 
conceal themselves in the daytime, travelling at night, and on 
no account to enter the settlements. They disappeared from El 
Paso the same night, and what became of them will be presently 
shown. 

On the 19th I left the Paso with an escort of fifteen auxi- 
liares, a ragged troop, with whom to have marched through 
Coventry would have broken the heart of Sir John Falstaff. 



170 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, hl 

m 

Armed with bows and arrows, lances, and old rusty escopetas, 
and mounted on miserable horses, their appearance was anything 
but warlike, and far from formidable. I did my best to escape 
the honour, knowing that they would only be in my way, and 
of not the slightest use in case of Indian attack ; but all my 
protestations were attributed to modesty, and were overruled, 
and I was fain to put myself at the head of the band of valiant 
Pasenos, who were to escort me to the borders of the state of 
Chihuahua. One of them, a very old man, with a long lance 
which he carried across his saddle-bow, and an old rusty bell- 
mouthed escopeta, attached himself particularly to me, riding by 
my side, and pointing out the points — the mal puntos — whence 
the Apaches usually made their attacks. He had, he told me, 
served all through the War of Independence, " y por el Rey" — 
for the king — he added, reverently doffing his hat at the men- 
tion of the king. He was a loyalist heart and soul. " Ojala por 
los dias felices del rey no !" — alas for the happy time when Mexico 
was ruled by a king! — was his constant sighing exclamation. A 
doblon, with the head of Carlos Tercero, hung round his neck, 
and was ever in his hand, being reverently kissed every few 
miles. He was, he said, medio tonto — half- crazy — and made 
verses, very sorry ones, but he would repeat them to me when 
we arrived in camp. 

Leaving El Paso, we travelled along the rugged precipitous 
bank of the river, crossing it about three miles above the village, 
and, striking into a wild barren-looking country, again made the 
river about sunset, and encamped in the bottom, under some 
very large cotton-woods, at a point called Los Alamitos — 
the little poplars — although they are enormous trees. "We had 
here a very picturesque camp. Several fires gleamed under the 
trees, and round them lay the savage-looking Pasenos, whilst 
the animals were picketed round about. Several deer jumped 
out of the bottom when we entered, and on the banks of the river 
I saw some fresh beaver " sign." 

The next day, halting an hour at the Brazitos, an encamping- 
ground so called, and a short time afterwards passing the battle- 
ground where Doniphan's Missourians routed the Mexicans, we 
saw Indian sign on the banks of the river, where a considerable 
body had just crossed. A little farther on we met a party of seven 



chap, xxi.] SAN DIEGO— DEAD MAN'S JOURNEY. 171 

soldiers returning from a successful hunt after the Americans 
who had escaped from the Paso. These unfortunates were sit- 
ting quietly behind their captors, who had overtaken them at 
the little settlement of Donana, which they foolishly entered to 
obtain provisions. 

Donana is a very recent settlement of ten or fifteen families, 
who, tempted by the richness of the soil, abandoned their farms 
in the valley of El Paso, and have here attempted to cultivate a 
small tract in the very midst of the Apaches, who have already 
paid them several visits and carried off or destroyed their stock 
of cattle. The huts are built of logs and mud, and situated 
on the top of a tabular bluff which looks down upon the river- 
bottom. 

The soil along this bottom, from El Paso to the settlements 
of New Mexico, is amazingly rich, and admirably adapted for 
the growth of all kinds of grain. The timber upon it is cotton- 
wood, dwarf oak, and mezquit, under which is a thick under- 
growth of bushes. Several attempts have been made to settle 
this productive tract, but have all of them failed from the hosti- 
lity of the Apaches. Should this department fall into the hands 
of the Americans, it will soon become a thriving settlement ; 
for the hardy backwoodsman, with his axe on one shoulder and 
rifle on the other, will not be deterred by the savage, like the 
present pusillanimous owners of the soil, from turning it to ac- 
count. 

The next day we encamped at San Diego, the point where the 
traveller leaves the river and enters upon the dreaded Jornada 
del Muerto — the journey of the dead man. All the camping 
and watering places on the river are named, but there are no 
settlements, with the exception of Donana, between El Paso and 
Socorro, the first settlement in New Mexico, a distance of 250 
miles. 

, At San Diego we saw more Indian signs, the consequence of 
which was, that my escort reported their horses to be exhausted 
and unable to proceed ; so, nothing loth, I gave them their 
congee, and the next morning they retraced their steps to El 
Paso, leaving me with my two servants to pass the Jornada. I 
was now at the edge of this formidable desert, where along the 
road the bleaching bones of mules and horses testify to the 



172 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxi. 

dangers to be apprehended from the want of water and pasture, 
and many human bones likewise tell their tale of Indian slaugh- 
ter and assault. 

I remained in camp until noon, when for the last time we led 
the animals to the water and allowed them to drink their fill : 
we then mounted, and at a sharp pace struck at once into the 
Jornada. The road is perfectly level and hard, and over plains 
bounded by sierras. Palmillas and bushes of sage (artemisia) 
are scattered here and there, but the mezquit is now becoming 
scarce, the tornilla or screw-wood taking its place : farther on 
this wood ceases, and there is then no fuel to be met with of any 
description. Large herds of antelope bounded past, and coyotes 
skulked along on their trail, and prairie-dog towns were met 
every few miles, but their inmates were snug in their winter- 
quarters, and only made their appearance to bask in the meridian 
sun. Shortly after leaving San Diego we found water in a little 
hole called El Perillo (the little dog), but our animals, having 
so lately drunk, would not profit by the discovery, and we hurried 
on, keeping the pack-animals in a sharp trot. Near the Perillo 
is a point of rocks which abuts upon the road, and from which 
a large body of Apaches a few years since pounced upon a band 
of American trappers and entirely defeated them, killing several 
and carrying off all their animals. Behind these rocks they 
frequently lie in ambush, shooting down the unwary traveller, 
whose first intimation of their presence is the puff of smoke from 
the rocks, or the whiz of an arrow through the air. One of my 
mozos, who was a New Mexican and knew the country well, 
warned me of the dangers of this spot, and before passing it I 
halted the mules and rode on to reconnoitre ; but no Apache 
lurked behind it, and we passed unmolested. 

About midnight we stopped at the Laguna del Muerto — the 
dead man's lake — a depression in the plain, which in the rainy 
season is covered with water, but was now hard and dry. We 
rested the animals here for half an hour, and, collecting a few 
armfuls of artemisia, attempted to make a fire, for we were all 
benumbed with cold ; but the dry twigs blazed brightly for a 
minute, and were instantly consumed. By the temporary light 
it afforded us we discovered that a large party of Indians had 
passed the very spot but a few hours, and were probably not 



chap, xxi.] SYSTEM OF PLAINS. 173 

far off at that moment, and, if so, they would certainly be at- 
tracted by our fire, so we desisted in our attempts. The mules 
and horses, which had travelled at a very quick pace, were suf- 
fering-, even thus early, from want of water, and my horse bit 
off the neck of a linage, or gourd, which I had placed on the 
ground, and which the poor beast by his nose knew to contain 
water. However, as there was not a vestige of grass on the 
spot, after a halt of half an hour, we again mounted and pro- 
ceeded on our journey, continuing at a rapid pace all night. 
At sunrise we halted for a couple of hours on a patch of grass 
which afforded a bite to the tired animals, and about three in the 
afternoon had the satisfaction of reaching the river at the 
watering-place called Fray Cristoval, having performed the 
whole distance of the Jornada, of ninety-five, or, as some say, 
one hundred miles, in little more than twenty hours. 

The plain through which the dead man's journey passes is 
one of a system, or series, which stretch along the table-land 
between the Sierra Madre, or main chain of the Cordillera, on 
the west, and the small mountain-chain of the Sierra Blanca and 
the Organos, which form the dividing ridge between the waters 
of the Del Norte and the Rio Pecos. Through this valley, fed 
by but few streams, runs the Del Norte. Its water, from the 
constant abrasion of the banks of alluvial soil, is very muddy 
and discoloured, but nevertheless of excellent quality, and has 
the reputation at El Paso of possessing chemical properties 
which prevent diseases of the kidneys, stone, &c. &c. 

The White Mountain and the Organos are singularly destitute 
of streams, but on the latter is said to be a small lake, in the 
waters of which may be seen the phenomenon of a daily rise 
and fall similar to a tide. They are also reported to abound in 
minerals, but, from the fact of these sierras being the hiding- 
places of Apaches, they are never visited excepting during a 
hostile expedition against these Indians, and consequently in 
these excursions but little opportunity is afforded for an ex- 
amination of the country. The sierras are also celebiated for 
medicinal herbs of great value, which the Apaches, when at 
peace with the Pasenos, sometimes bring in for sale. 

Indeed, from the accounts which I received from the people 
of these mountains, I should judge them to be well woithy of a 



174 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxi 

visit, which however would be extremely hazardous on account 
of the hostility of the Indians and the scarcity of water. Their 
formation is apparently volcanic, and, judging from the nature of 
the plains, which in many places are strewed with volcanic sub- 
stances, and exhibit the bluffs of tabular form, composed of 
basaltic lava, known by the name of mesas (tables), the valley 
must at one time have been subjected to volcanic agency. 

Staying at Fray Cristoval but one night, I pushed on to 
the ruins of Yalverde, a long-deserted rancheria, a few miles 
beyond which was the advanced post of the American troops. 
Here, encamped on the banks of the river in the heavy timber, I 
found a great portion of the caravan which I have before men- 
tioned as being en route to Chihuahua, and also a surveying 
party under the command of Lieut. Abert, of the United States 
Topographical Engineers. Being entirely out of provisions, and 
my camp hungry, the next morning I mounted my hunting-mule, 
and crossed the river, which was partially frozen, to look for deer 
in the bottom. Thanks to my mule, as I was passing through a 
thicket I saw her prick her ears and look on one side, and, fol- 
lowing her gaze, descried three deer standing under a tree with 
their heads turned towards me. My rifle was quickly up to my 
shoulder, and a fine large doe dropped to the report, shot through 
the heart. Being in a hurry, I did not wait to cut it up, but 
threw it on to my mule, which I drove before me to the river. 
Large blocks of ice were floating down, which rendered the pas- 
sage difficult, but I mounted behind the deer and pushed the mule 
into the stream. Just as we had got into the middle of the cur- 
rent a large piece of ice struck her, and, to prevent herself being 
carried down the stream, she threw herself on her haunches, and 
I slipped over the tail, and head over ears into the water. Rid of 
the extra load, the mule carried the deer safely over and trotted 
off to camp, where she quietly stood to be unpacked, leaving me, 
drenched to the skin, to follow after her. 

The traders had been lying here many weeks, and the bottom 
where they were encamped presented quite a picturesque appear- 
ance. The timber extends half a mile from the river, and the 
cotton-wood trees are of large size, without any undergrowth of 
bushes. Amongst the trees, in open spaces, were drawn up the 
waggons, formed into a corral or square, and close together, so 



chap, xxi.] MISSOURIANS* CAMP. 175 

that the whole made a most formidable fort, and, when filled with 
some hundred rifles, could defy the attacks of Indians or Mexi- 
cans. Scattered about were tents and shanties of logs and 
branches of every conceivable form, round which lounged wild- 
looking Missourians, some cooking at the camp-fires, some clean- 
ing their rifles or firing at targets — blazes cut in the trees, with a 
bull's-eye made with wet powder on the white bark. From 
morning till night the camp resounded with the popping of rifles, 
firing at marks for prizes of tobacco, or at any living creature 
which presented itself. The oxen, horses, and mules were sent 
out at daylight to pasture on the grass of the prairie, and at sun- 
set made their appearance, driven in by the Mexican herders, and 
were secured for the night in the corrals. My own animals 
roamed at will, but every evening came to the river to drink, 
and made their way to my camp, where they would frequently 
stay round the fire all night. They never required herding, for 
they made their appearance as regularly as the day closed, and 
would come to my whistle whenever I required my hunting- 
mule. The poor beasts were getting very poor, not having had 
corn since leaving El Paso, and having subsisted during the 
journey from that place on very little of the coarsest kind of 
grass. They felt it the more as they were all accustomed to be 
fed on grain; and the severe cold was very trying to them, 
coming, as they did, from a tropical climate. My favourite 
horse, Panchito, had lost all his good looks ; his once full and 
arched neck was now a perfect " ewe," and his ribs and hip-bones 
were almost protruding through the skin ; but he was as game 
as ever, and had never once flinched in his work. 

Provisions of all kinds were very scarce in the camp, and the 
game, being constantly hunted, soon disappeared. Having been 
invited to join the hospitable mess of the officers of the Engineers, 
I fortunately did not suffer, although even they were living on 
their rations, and on the produce of our guns. The traders, 
mostly young men from the eastern cities, were fine hearty fel- 
lows, who employ their capital in this trade because it combines 
pleasure with profit, and the excitement and danger of the journey 
through the Indian countrv are more agreeable than the mono- 
tonons life of a city merchant. The volunteers' camp was some 
three miles up the river on the other side. Colonel Doniphan, who 






176 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxi. 

commanded, had just returned from an expedition into the 
Navajo country for the purpose of making a treaty with the 
chiefs of that nation, who have hitherto been bitter enemies of 
the New Mexicans. From appearances no one would have 
imagined this to be a military encampment. The tents were in 
a line, but there all uniformity ceased. There were no regula- 
tions in force with regard to cleanliness. The camp was strewed 
with the bones and offal of the cattle slaughtered for its supply, 
and not the slightest attention was paid to keeping it clear from 
other accumulations of filth. The men, unwashed and un- 
shaven, were ragged and dirty, without uniforms, and dressed as, 
and how, they pleased. They wandered about, listless and sickly- 
looking, or were sitting in groups playing at cards, and swearing 
and cursing, even at the officers if they interfered to stop it (as 
I witnessed). The greatest irregularities constantly took place. 
Sentries, or a guard, although in an enemy's country, were voted 
unnecessary ; and one fine day, during the time I was here, three 
Navajo Indians ran off with a flock of eight hundred sheep be- 
longing to the camp, killing the two volunteers in charge of 
them, and reaching the mountains in safety with their booty. 
Their mules and horses were straying over the country ; in fact, 
the most total want of discipline was apparent in everything. 
These very men, however, were as full of fight as game cocks, 
and shortly after defeated four times their number of Mexicans 
at Sacramento, near Chihuahua. 

The American can never be made a soldier ; his constitution 
will not bear the restraint of discipline, neither will his very 
mistaken notions about liberty allow him to subject himself to its 
necessary control. In a country abounding with all the neces- 
saries of life, and where any one of physical ability is at no loss 
for profitable employment ; moreover, where, from the nature of 
the country, the lower elates lead a life free from all the restraint 
of society, and almost its conventional laws, it is easy to conceive 
that it would require great inducements for a man to enter the 
army and subject himself to discipline for the sake of the tiiriing 
remuneration, when so many other sources of profitable employ- 
ment are open to him. For these reasons the service is unpopular, 
and only resorted to by men who are either too indolent to work, 
or whose bad characters prevent them seeking other employment. 



chap, m.] VOLUNTEERS' CAMP— AMERICANS AS SOLDIERS. 177 

The volunteering service on the other hand is eagerly sought, 
on occasions such as the present war with Mexico affords, by 
young men even of the most respectable classes, as, in this, dis- 
cipline exists but in name, and they have privileges and rights, 
such as electing their own officers, &c, which they consider to 
be more consonant to their ideas of liberty and equality. The 
system is palpably bad, as they have sufficiently proved in this 
war. The election of officers is made entirely a political ques- 
tion, and quite irrespective of their military qualities, and, 
knowing the footing on which they stand with the men, they, if 
even they know how, are afraid to exact of them either order 
or discipline. Of drill or manoeuvring the volunteers have little 
or no idea. " Every man on his own hook " is their system in 
action ; and trusting to, and confident in, their undeniable bra- 
very, they " go ahead," and overcome all obstacles. No people 
know better the advantages of discipline than do the officers of 
the regular service ; and it is greatly to their credit that they 
can keep the standing army in the state it is. As it is mostly 
composed of foreigners — Germans, English, and Irish, and de 
serters from the British army— they might be brought to as perfect 
a state of discipline as any of the armies of Europe ; but the 
feeling of the people will not permit it ; the public would at once 
cry out against it as contrary to republican notions and the liberty 
of the citizen. 

There is a vast disparity between the officers of the regular 
army and the men they command. Receiving at Westpoint (an 
admirable institution) a military education by which they acquire 
a practical as well as theoretical knowledge of the science of 
war, as a class they are probably more distinguished for military 
knowledge than the officers of any European army. Uniting 
with this a high chivalrous feeling and most conspicuous gal- 
lantry, they have all the essentials of the officer and soldier. 
Notwithstanding this, they have been hitherto an unpopular class 
in the United States, being accused of having a tendency to 
aristocratic feeling, but rather, I do believe, from the marked 
distinction in education and character which divides them from 
the mass, than any other reason. However, the late operations 
in Mexico have sufficiently proved that to their regular officers 
alone, and more particularly to those who have been educated at 

N 



178 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxi. 

the much-decried Westpoint, are to be attributed the successes 
which have everywhere attended the American arms ; and it is 
notorious that on more than one occasion the steadiness of the 
small regular force, and particularly of the artillery, under their 
command, has saved the army from most serious disasters. 

I remained at Yalverde encampment several days in order to 
recruit my animals before proceeding farther to the north, pass- 
ing the time in hunting ; game, although driven from the vicinity 
of the camp, being still plentiful at a little distance. Besides 
deer and antelope, turkeys were very abundant in the river 
bottom ; and, of lesser game, hares, rabbits, and quail were met 
with on the plain, and geese and ducks in the river. 

One day I got a shot at a panther (painter), but did not kill 
it, as my old mule was so disturbed at the sight of the beast, 
that she refused to remain quiet. The prairie between the Del 
Norte and the mountain, a distance of twelve or fourteen miles, 
is broken into gulleys and ravines, which intersect it in every 
direction. At the bottom of these is a thick growth of coarse 
grass and grease-bushes, where the deer love to resort in the 
middle of the day. T was riding slowly up one of these canons, 
with my rifle across the saddle-bow, and the reins thrown on the 
mule's neck, being at that moment engaged in lighting my pipe, 
when the mule pricked her ears and turned her head to one 
side very suddenly, giving a cant round at the same time. I 
looked to the right, and saw a large panther, with his tail sweep- 
ing the ground, trotting leisurely up the side of the ravine, 
which rose abruptly from the dry bed of a water- course, up 
which I was proceeding. The animal, when it had reached the 
top, turned round and looked at me, its tiger-like ears erect, and 
its tail quivering with anger. The mule snorted and backed, 
but, fearing to dismount, lest the animal should run off, I raised 
my rifle and fired both barrels at the beast, which, giving a 
hissing growl, bounded away unhurt. 

It was, however, dangerous to go far from the camp, as Apaches 
and Navajos were continually prowling round, and, as I have 
mentioned, had killed two of the volunteers, and stolen 800 
sheep. One day, while hunting, I came upon a fire which they 
had just left, and, as several oxen were lost that night, this party, 
which, from the tracks, consisted of a man, woman, and boy, 



chap, xxi.] VAL VERDE-TURKEYS. 179 

had doubtless run them off. I was that day hunting in company 
with a French Canadian and an American, both trappers and 
old mountain-men, when, at sundown, just as we had built a 
fire and were cooking our suppers under some trees near the 
river, we heard the gobble-gobble of an old turkey-cock, as he 
called his flock to roost. Lying motionless on the ground, we 
watched the whole flock, one after another, fly up to the trees 
over our heads, to the number of upwards of thirty. There was 
still light enough to shoot, and the whole flock was within reach 
of our rifles, but, as we judged that we could not hope for more 
than one shot apiece, which would only give three birds, we 
agreed to wait until the moon rose, when we might bag the 
whole family. 

Hardly daring to move, we remained quiet for several hours, 
as the moon rose late, consoling ourselves with our anticipations 
of a triumphal entry into camp, on the morrow, with twenty or 
thirty fine turkeys for a Christmas feast. 

At length the moon rose, but unfortunately clouded : never- 
theless we thought there was sufficient light for our purpose, 
and, rifle in hand, approached the trees where the unconscious 
birds were roosting. Creeping close along the ground, we 
stopped under the first tree we came to, and, looking up, on one 
of the topmost naked limbs was a round black object. The pas 
was given to me, and, raising my rifle, I endeavoured to obtain 
a sight, but the light was too obscure to draw " a bead," although 
there appeared no difficulty in getting a level. I fired, expect- 
ing to hear the crash of the falling bird follow the report, but 
the black object on the tree never moved. My companions 
chuckled, and I fired my second barrel with similar result, the 
bird still remaining perfectly quiet. The Canadian then stepped 
forth, and, taking a deliberate aim, bang he went. 

' ; Sacre enfant de Garce!" he exclaimed, finding he too had 
missed the bird ; "I aim straight, mais light tres bad, sacre !" 

Bang went the other's rifle, and bang-bang went my two barrels 
immediately after, cutting the branch in two on which the bird 
was sitting, who, thinking this a hint to be off, and that he had 
sufficiently amused us, flew screaming away. The same compli- 
ments were paid to every individual, one bird standing nine 
shots before it flew off: and, to end the story, we fired away every 

N2 



180 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxi. 

ball in our pouches without as much as touching a feather; 
the fact of the matter being, that the light was not sufficient to 
see an object through the fine sight of the rifles. 

At Valverde my Mexican servant deserted, why or wherefore 
I could not understand, as he did not even wait for his pay, 
and carried off no equivalent. I also left here the Mexico- 
Irishman who had accompanied me from Mapimi. He was 
already suffering from the severities of the climate, and, being 
very delicate, I did not think him able to stand a winter journey 
over the Rocky Mountains. He therefore returned to Chihuahua 
with one of the traders. From this point to my winter quarters 
in the mountains I was entirely on my own resources, being 
unable to hire a servant in whom I could place the least con- 
fidence, and preferring to shift for myself, rather than be 
harassed with being always on the watch to prevent my fidus 
Achates from robbing or murdering me. My animals gave me 
little or no trouble, and I had now reduced my requa to five, 
having left at El Paso the tierra caliente horse, another having 
died on the road, and a mule having been lost or strayed on the 
Del Norte. In travelling I had no difficulty with the pack and 
loose mules. I rode in front on Panchito, and the mules fol- 
lowed like dogs, never giving me occasion even to turn round 
to see if they were there ; for if, by any accident, they lost sight 
of the horse, and other animals were near, they would gallop 
about smelling at each, and often, starting off to horses or mules 
feeding at a distance, would return at full gallop, crying with 
terror until they found their old friend. Panchito, on his part, 
showed equal signs of perturbation if they remained too far be- 
hind, as sometimes they would stop for a mouthful of grass, and, 
turning his head, would recall them by a loud neigh, which in- 
variably had the effect of bringing them up at a hand-gallop. 

T.he greatest difficulty I experienced was in packing the mules, 
which operation, when on an aparejo, or Mexican pack-saddle, 
is the work of two men, and I may as well describe the process. 

The equipment of a pack-mule — mula de carga — consists first 
and foremost of the aparejo, which is a square pad of stuffed 
leather. An idea of the shape may be formed by taking a book 
and placing it saddle -fashion on any object, the leaves being equally 
divided, and each half forming a flap of the saddle. This is 



chap, xxi.] EQUIPMENT OF A PACK-MULE. 181 

placed on the mule's back on a xerga, or saddle-cloth, which has 
under it a salea, raw sheep-skin softened by the hand, which 
prevents the saddle chafing the back. The aparejo is then se- 
cured by a broad grass-band, which is drawn so tight, that the 
animal appears cut in two, and groans and grunts most awfully 
under the operation, which to a greenhorn seems most unneces- 
sary and cruel. It is in this, hovyever, that the secret of pack- 
ing a mule consists ; the firmer the pack -sad die, the more com- 
fortably the mule travels, and with less risk of being " matada" 
literally killed, but meaning chafed and cut. 

The cargo, is then placed on the top, if a single pack ; or if 
two of equal size and weight, one on each side, being coupled 
together by a rope, which balances them on the mule's back : a 
stout pack-rope is then thrown overall, drawn as tight as possible 
under the belly, and laced round the packs, securing the load 
firmly in its place. A square piece of matting — petate — is then 
thrown over the pack to protect it from rain, the tapojos is re- 
moved from the mule's eyes, and the operation is complete. The 
tapojos — blinker — is a piece of thin embroidered leather, which 
is placed over the mule's eyes before being packed, and, thus 
blinded, the animal remains perfectly quiet. The cargador stands 
on the near side of the pack, his assistant on the other, hauling 
on the slack of the rope, with his knee against the side of the 
mule for a purchase; when the rope is taut, he cries "Adios!" 
and the packer, rejoining " Vaya I " makes fast the rope on the top 
of the carga, sings out "Anda ! " and the mule trots off to her 
companions, who feed round until all the mules of the atajo are 
packed. 

Muleteering is the natural occupation of the Mexican. He is 
in all his glory when travelling as one of the mozos of a large 
atajo — a caravan of pack- mules ; but the height of his ambition 
is to attain the rank of mayor-domo or capitan — (the brigadero 
of Castile). The atajos, numbering from fifty to two hundred 
mules, travel a daily distance — -Jornada — of twelve or fifteen 
miles, each mule carrying a pack weighing from two to four 
hundred pounds. To a large atajo eight or ten muleteers are 
attached, and the dexterity and quickness with which they 
will saddle and pack an atajo of a hundred mules is surprising. 
The animals being driven to the spot, the lasso whirls round the 



182 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxi. 

head of the muleteer, and falls over the head of a particular 
mule. The tapojos is placed over the eyes, the heavy aparejo 
adjusted, and the pack secured, in three minutes. On reaching 
the place where they purpose to encamp, the pack-saddles are all 
ranged in regular order, with the packs between, and covered 
with the petates, a trench being cut round them in wet weather 
to carry off the rain. One mule is always packed with the me" 
fate— the stone block upon which the maize is ground to make 
tortillas, and the office of cook is undertaken in turn by each of 
the muleteers. Frijoles and chile Colorado comprise their daily 
bill of fare, with a drink of pulque when passing through the 
land of the maguey. 



chap, xxii.] SAN ANTONIO— SOCORRO. 133 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Leave Valverde — San Antonio — Socorro— New Mexicans— Beggars — Houses 
— Limitar — Bosque Redondo — Albuquerque — British Deserter — Berna- 
lillo — A Stampede — San Felipe — Galisteo — Yankee Teamster — In Sight 
of Santa Fe — Arrival. 

On the 14th of December the camp was broken up, the traders 
proceeding to Fray Cristoval, at the entrance of the Jornada, to 
wait the arrival of the troops, which were about to advance on 
Chihuahua ; and myself, in company with Lieutenant Abert's 
party, en route to Santa Fe. Crossing the Del Norte, we pro- 
ceeded on its right bank ten or twelve miles, encamping in the 
bottom near the new settlement of San Antonio, a little hamlet 
of ten or twelve log-huts, inhabited by pastores and vaqueros — 
shepherds and cattle-herders. The river is but thinly timbered 
here, the soil being arid and sterile ; on the bluffs, however, the 
grass is very good, being the gramma or feather-grass, and nu- 
merous flocks of sheep are sent hither to pasture from the settle- 
ments higher up the stream. 

The next day we passed through Socorro, a small, wretched 
place, the first settlement of New Mexico on the river. The 
houses are all of adobe, inside and out, one story high, and with 
the usual azotea or flat roof. They have generally a small win- 
dow, with thin sheets of talc (which here abounds) as a substitute 
for glass. They are, however, kept clean inside, the mud-floors 
being watered and swept many times during the day. The faces 
of the women were all stained with the fiery red juice of a plant 
called alegria, from the forehead to the chin. This is for the 
purpose of protecting their skin from the effects of the sun, and 
preserving them in untanned beauty to be exposed in the fan- 
dangos. Of all people in the world the Mexicans have the 
greatest antipathy to water, hot or cold, for ablutionary pur- 
poses. The men never touch their faces with that element, ex- 
cept in their bi-monthly shave ; and the women besmear themselves 



184 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxii. 

with fresh coats of alegria when their faces become dirty : thus 
their countenances are covered with alternate strata of paint and 
dirt, caked, and cracked in fissures. My first impressions of New 
Mexico were anything but favourable, either to the country or the 
people. The population of Socorro was wretched-looking, and 
every countenance seemed marked by vice and debauchery. The 
men appear to have no other employment than smoking and bask- 
ing in the sun, wrapped in their sarapes ; the women in dancing 
and intrigue. The appearance of Socorro is that of a dilapidated 
brick-kiln, or a prairie-dog town ; indeed, from these animals 
the New Mexicans appear to have derived their style of archi- 
tecture. In every village we entered, the women flocked round 
us begging for tobacco or money, the men loafing about, pilfer- 
ing everything they could lay their hands on. As in other parts 
of Mexico, the women wore the enagua, or red petticoat, and 
reboso, and were all bare-legged. The men were some of them 
clad in buckskin shirts, made by the Indians. Near Socorro is 
a mining sierra, where gold and silver have been extracted in small 
quantities. All along the road we met straggling parties of the 
volunteers, on horse or mule-back, and on foot. In every camp 
they usually lost some of their animals, one or two of which our 
party secured. The five hundred men who were on the march 
covered an extent of road of more than a hundred miles — the 
ammunition and provision waggons travelling through an enemy's 
country without escort ! 

On the 16th we passed through Limi tar, another wretched vil- 
lage, and a sandy, desert country, quite uninhabited, camping 
again on the Del Norte ; and next day, stopping an hour or two 
at Sabanal, we reached Bosque Redondo, the hacienda of one of 
the Chaves family, and one of the ricos of New Mexico. 

The churches in the villages of New Mexico are quaint little 
buildings, looking, with their adobe-walls, like turf-stacks. At 
each corner of the facade half a dozen bricks are erected in the 
form of a tower, and a centre ornament of the same kind sup- 
ports a wooden cross. They are really the most extraordinary 
and primitive specimens of architecture I ever met with, and 
the decorations of the interior are equal to the promises held out 
by the imposing outside. 

The houses are entered by doors which barely admit a full- 



chap, xxn.] ALBUQUERQUE. 185 

grown man ; and the largest of New Mexican windows is but 
little bigger than the ventilator of a summer hat. However, 
in his rabbit-burrow, and with his tortillas and his chile, his 
ponche * and cigar of hoja, t the New-Mexican is content ; and 
with an occasional traveller to pilfer, or the excitement of a 
stray Texan or two to massacre now and then, is tolerably happy ; 
his only care being, that the river rise high enough to fill his 
acequia, or irrigating ditch, that sufficient maize may grow to 
furnish him tortillas for the winter, and shucks for his half-starved 
horse or mule, which the Navajos have left, out of charity, after 
killing half his sons and daughters, and bearing into captivity 
the wife of his bosom. 

We encamped behind the house at Bosque Redondo, for which 
privilege 1 asked permission of the proprietor ; and who doled us 
out six pennyworth of wood for our fires, never inviting us into 
his house, or offering the slightest civility. Cosas de Mejico. 

On the 17th we reached Albuquerque, next to Santa Fe the 
most important town in the province, and the residence of the 
ex-Governor Armijo. We found here a squadron of the 1st 
United States dragoons, the remainder of the regiment having 
accompanied General Kearney to California. We encamped near 
a large building where the men were quartered; and in the 
evening a number of them came round the fire, asking the news 
from the lower country. I saw that some of them had once 
worn a different-coloured uniform from the sky-blue of the 
United States army ; and in the evening, as I was walking with 
some of the officers of the regiment, I was accosted by one, whom 
I immediately recognised as a man named Herbert, a deserter 
from the regiment to which I had once belonged. He had 
imagined that, as several years had elapsed since I had seen him, 
his face would not have been familiar to me, and inquired for a 
brother of his who was still in the regiment, denying at first that 
he had been in the British service.. 

The settled portion of the province of New Mexico is divided 
into two sections, which, from their being situated on the Rio del 
Norte, are designated Rio Arriba and Rio Abajo, or up the 
river and down the river. Albuquerque is the chief town of the 

* A pungent tobacco grown in New Mexico, 
t Hoja, corn-shuck, leaves of Indian corn. 



186 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxii. 

latter, as Santa Fe is of the former as well as the capital of the 
province. 

The town and the estates in the neighbourhood belong to the 
Armijo family ; and the General of that name, and ex- Governor, 
has here a palacio ; and has also built a barrack, in which to 
accommodate the numerous escort which always attends him in 
his progresses to and from his country-seat. 

The families of Armijo, Chaves, Perea, and Ortiz are par ex- 
cellence the ricos of New Mexico — indeed, all the wealth of the 
province is concentrated in their hands ; and a more grasping set 
of people, and more hard-hearted oppressors of the poor, it would 
be difficult to find in any other part of Mexico, where the rights 
or condition of the lower classes are no more considered, than in 
civilised countries is the welfare of dogs and pigs. 

I had letters to the Senora Armijo, the wife of the runaway 
Governor ; but, as it was late at night when we arrived, and as I 
intended to leave the next morning, I did not think it worth 
while to present them, merely delivering to the mayor-domo some 
private letters which had been intrusted to my care from Chi- 
huahua. However, as I passed the windows of the sala, I had a 
good view of the lady, who was once celebrated as the belle of 
New Mexico. She is now a fat, comely dame of forty, with the 
remains of considerable beauty, but quite passee. 

Our halting-place next day was at Bernalillo, a more miserable 
place than usual ; but as I had brought letters to a wealthy 
haciendado, one Julian Perea, I anticipated an unusual degree of 
hospitality. On presenting the letter, everything Don Julian 
possessed was instantly thrown at my feet ; but out of the magni- 
ficent gift I only selected an armful of wood, from a large yard- 
ful, for our fire, and for which he charged me three rials, as well 
as three more for the use of an empty corral for the animals ; 
we ourselves encamping outside his gate on the damp thawing 
snow, without receiving the ghost of an invitation to enter his 
house. 

We this day got a first glimpse of one of the spurs of the 

Rocky Mountains, appearing, far in the distance, white with snow. 

On the 20th we encamped in a pretty valley on the Rio Grande, 

under a high tabular bluff which overhangs the river on the 

western bank ; and on the summit of which are the ruins of an 



chap, xxn.] PUEBLO OF SAN FELIPE— GALISTEO. 187 

old Indian village. About two miles from our camp was the 
Pueblo of San Felipe, a village of the tribe of Indians known as 
Pueblos, or Indios Manzos — half-civilised Indians. 

During the night our mulada, which was grazing at large in 
the prairie, was stampeded by the Indians. I was lying out 
some distance from the fire, when the noise of their thundering 
tread roused me, and, as they passed the fire at full gallop, I at 
once divined the cause. Luckily for me, Panchito, my horse, 
wheeled out of the crowd, and, followed by his mules, galloped 
up to the fire, and came to me when I whistled ; the remainder 
of the mulada continuing their flight. The next morning, two 
fine horses and three mules were missing, and, of course, were not 
recovered. 

The next day we encamped on Galisteo, a small stream 
coming from the mountains. We had now entered a wild 
broken country, covered with pine and cedar. A curious ridge 
runs from east to west, broken here and there by abrupt chasms, 
which exhibit its formation in alternate strata of shale and old 
red sandstone. There are here indications of coal, which are 
met along the whole of this ridge. We encamped on a bleak 
bluff, without timber or grass, which overlooked the stream. 
Late in the evening we heard the creaking of a waggon's wheels, 
and the wo- ha of the driver, as he urged his oxen up the sandy 
bluff. A waggon drawn by six yoke of oxen soon made its ap- 
pearance, under the charge of a tall raw-boned Yankee. As soon 
as he had unyoked his cattle, he approached our fire, and, seating 
himself almost in the blaze, stretching his long legs at the same 
time into the ashes, he broke out with, " Cuss sich a darned 
country, I say ! Wall, strangers, an ugly camp this, I swar ; and 
what my cattle ull do I don't know, for they have not eat since 
we put out of Santa Fe, and are darned near giv out, that' s a fact ; 
and thar's nothin' here for 'em to eat, surely. Wall, they must 
just hold on till to-morrow, for I have only got a pint of corn 
apiece for 'em to-night anyhow, so there's no two ways about 
that. Strangers, I guess now you'll have a skillet among ye; 
if yer a mind to trade, I'll just have it right off; anyhow, I'll 
just borrow it to-night to bake my bread, and, if yer wish to trade, 
name your price. Cuss sich a darned country, say I ! Jist look 
at them oxen, wull ye ! — they've nigh upon two hundred miles to 



188 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxii. 

go ; for I'm bound to catch up the sogers afore they reach the 
Pass, and there's not a go in 'em." 

" Well," I ventured to put in, feeling for the poor beasts, 
which were still yoked and standing in the river completely 
done up, " would it not be as well for you to feed them at once 
and let them rest?" 

" Wall, I guess if you '11 some of you lend me a hand, I '11 
fix 'em right off; tho', darn em ! they 've giv me a pretty darned 
lot of trouble, they have, darn em ! but the critturs will have 
to eat, I b'lieve." 

I willingly lent him the aid he required, and also added to 
their rations some corn which my animals, already full, were 
turning up their noses at, and which the oxen greedily devoured. 
This done, he returned to the fire and baked his cake, fried his 
bacon, and made his coffee, his tongue all the while keeping up 
an incessant clack. This man was by himself, having a journey 
of two hundred miles before him, and twelve oxen and his waggon 
to look after : but dollars, dollars, dollars was all he thought of. 
Everything he saw lying about he instantly seized, wondered 
what it cost, what it was worth, offered to trade for it or any- 
thing else by which he might turn a penny, never waiting for 
an answer, and rattling on, eating, drinking, and talking without 
intermission ; and at last, gathering himself up, said, " Wall, I 
guess I '11 turn into my waggon now, and some of you will, may 
be, give a look round at the cattle every now and then, and I '11 
thank you :" and saying this, with a hop, step, and a jump, was 
inside his waggon and snoring in a couple of minutes. 

We broke up camp at daybreak, leaving our friend wo-ha-ing 
his cattle through the sandy bottom, and " cussing the darned 
country " at every step. We crossed several ridges clothed with 
cedars, but destitute of grass or other vegetation ; and passing 
over a dismal plain descended into a hollow, where lay, at the 
bottom of a pine-covered mountain, the miserable mud-built 
Santa Fe ; and shortly after, wayworn and travel-stained, and 
my poor animals in a condition which plainly showed that they 
had seen some hard service, we entered the city, after a journey 
of not much less than two thousand miles. 



chap, xxiii.] SANTA FE. 189 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Santa Fe — Population of — Town — Pueblo Indians — Aridity of Soil — New 
Mexican Settlements — Gold-Mines — New Mexicans — Ancient Mexicans 
— Traditions of Indians — Quetzalcoatl — Migration of Aztecs — Indian 
Tribes in New Mexico — The Moquis — Ruins of Cities — Welsh Indians — 
Dress of Pueblos — Revolutions — Leave Santa Fe'— Wolf — Indian Wel- 
come — La Canada — El Embudo — Cross the Mountain — Scenery — Ice — 
Arrive at Taos. 

Santa Fe, the capital of the province of Nuevo Mejico, con- 
tains about three thousand inhabitants, and is situated about four- 
teen miles from the left bank of the Del Norte, at the foot of 
a mountain forming one of the eastern chain of the Rocky 
Mountains. The town is a wretched collection of mud-houses, 
without a single building of stone, although it boasts a palacio — 
as the adobe residence of the Governor is called — a long low r 
building, taking up the greater part of one side of the plaza or 
public square, round which runs a portal or colonnade supported 
by pillars of rough pine. The appearance of the town defies 
description, and I can compare it to nothing but a dilapidated 
brick-kiln or a prairie-dog town. The inhabitants are worthy 
of their city, and a more miserable, vicious-looking population it 
would be impossible to imagine. Neither was the tow r n im- 
proved, at the time of my visit, by the addition to the population 
of some three thousand Americans, the dirtiest, rowdiest crew I 
have ever seen collected together. 

Crowds of drunken volunteers filled the streets, brawling and 
boasting, but never fighting ; Mexicans, wrapped in sarape, 
scowled upon them as they passed ; donkey-loads of hoja — corn- 
shucks — were hawking about for sale ; and Pueblo Indians and 
priests jostled the rude crowds of brawlers at every step. Under 
the portales were numerous monte-tables, surrounded by Mexi- 
cans and Americans. Every other house was a grocery, as they 
call a gin or whisky shop, continually disgorging reeling 
drunken men, and everywhere filth and dirt reigned triumphant. 



190 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxiii. 

The extent of the province of New Mexico is difficult to de- 
fine, as the survey of the northern sections of the republic has 
never been undertaken,* and a great portion of the country is 
still in the hands of the aborigines, who are at constant war with 
the Mexicans. It has been roughly estimated at 6000 square 
miles, with a population of 70,000, including the three castes 
of descendants of the original settlers, Mestizos, and Indios 
Manzos or Pueblos ; the Mestizos, as is the case throughout the 
country, bearing a large proportion to the Mexico-Spanish por- 
tion of the population — in this case as 50 to 1 . 

The Pueblos, who are the original inhabitants of New Mexico, 
and, living in villages, are partially civilised, are the most in- 
dustrious portion of the population, and cultivate the soil in a 
higher degree than the New Mexicans themselves. In these 
Indians, in their dwellings, their manners, customs, and physical 
character, may be traced a striking analogy to the Aztecans or 
ancient Mexicans. Their houses and villages are constructed in 
the same manner as, from existing ruins, we may infer that the 
Aztecans constructed theirs. These buildings are of two, three, 
and even five stories, without doors or any external communica 
tion, the entrance being at the top by means of ladders through 
a trap-door in the azotea or flat roof. The population of the 
different Pueblos scattered along the Del Norte and to the west- 
ward of it is estimated at 12,000, without including the Moquis, 
who have preserved their independence since the year 1G80. 

The general character of the department is extreme aridity 
of soil, and the consequent deficiency of water, which must 
ever prevent its being thickly settled. The valley of the Del 
Norte is fertile, but of very limited extent ; and other portions 
of the province are utterly valueless in an agricultural point of 
view, and their metallic wealth is greatly exaggerated. From 
association with the hardy trappers and pioneers of the far west, 
the New Mexicans have in some degree imbibed a portion of 
their enterprise and hardihood ; for settlements have been pushed 
far into the Eocky Mountains, whose inhabitants are many of 
them expert buffalo-hunters and successful trappers of beaver. 
The most northern of these is on the Rio Colorado, or Red 

* Lieutenant Abert, of the U. S. T. Engineers, surveyed the greater 
portion of New Mexico in 1846. 



ciiAP. xxiii.] GOLD MINE— INDIAN TRADITIONS. 191 

River Creek, an affluent of the Del Norte, rising in the eastern 
chain of the Rocky Mountains, one hundred miles north of 
Santa 1 

Of the many so-called gold-mines in New Mexico there is 
but one which has in any degree repaid the labour of working. 
This is El Real de Dolores, more commonly known as El 
Placer, situated eight leagues from Santa Fe, on the ridge of the 
i a Obscura. The gold is mostly found in what is tech- 
nically called <; dust," in very small quantities and with con- 
siderable labour. It has perhaps produced, since its discovery in 
1828, 200,000 dollars, but it is very doubtful if any of these 
placeres would repay the working on a large scale. 

It is a favourite idea with the New Mexicans that the Pueblo 
Indians are acquainted with the existence and localities of some 
prodigiously rich mines, which in the early times of the con- 
quest were worked by the Spaniards, at the expense of infinite 
toil and slavery on the part of the Indians ; and that, fearing 
that such tyranny would be repeated if they were to disclose 
their secret, they have ever since steadily refused to point them out. 

It is remarkable that, although existing, from the earliest 
times of the colonization of New Mexico, a period of two 
centuries, in a state of continual hostility with the numerous 
savage tribes of Indians who surround their territory, and in 
constant insecurity of life and property from their attacks — being 
also far removed from the enervating influences of large cities, 
and, in their isolated situation, entirely dependent upon their own 
resources — the inhabitants are totally destitute of those quali- 
ties which, for the above reasons, we might naturally have 
expected to distinguish them, and are as deficient in energy of 
character and physical courage, as they are in all the moral and 
intellectual qualities. In their social state but one degree re- 
moved from the veriest savages, they might take a lesson even 
from these in morality and the conventional decencies of life. 
Imposing no restraint on their passions, a shameless and universal 
concubinage exists, and a total disregard of moral laws, to which 
it would be impossible to find a parallel in any country calling 
itself civilized. A want of honourable principle, and consum- 
mate duplicity and treachery, characterize all their dealings. 
Liars by nature, they are treacherous and faithless to their 



192 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxiii. 

friends, cowardly and cringing to their enemies ; cruel, as all 
cowards are, they unite savage ferocity with their want of 
animal courage ; as an example of which, their recent massacre 
of Governor Bent and other Americans may be given — one of a 
hundred instances. 

I have before observed that a portion of the population of 
New Mexico consists of Indians, called Pueblos, from the fact 
of their living in towns, who are in a semi-civilized state, and in 
whose condition may be traced an analogy to the much exagge- 
rated civilization of the ancient Mexicans. It is well known 
that, in the traditions of that people, the Aztecs migrated from 
the north, from regions beyond the Gila, where they made the 
first of their three great halts ; but it is generally supposed that 
no traces of their course, or former habitation, existed to the 
northward of this river. In the country of the Navajoses, as 
well as in the territories of the independent Moqui, are still 
discoverable traces of their residence, and, as I have before re- 
marked, the Pueblo Indians construct and inhabit houses and 
villages of the same form and material as the " casas grandes " 
of the ancient Mexicans ; retain many of their customs and 
domestic arts, as they have been handed down to us, and numerous 
traces of a common origin. 

Amongst many of the religious forms still retained by these 
people, perhaps the most interesting is the perpetuation of the 
holy fire, by the side of which the Aztecan kept a continual 
watch for the return to earth of Quetzalcoatl — the god of 
air — who, according to their tradition, visited the earth, and 
instructed the inhabitants in agriculture and other useful arts. 
During his sojourn he caused the earth to yield tenfold produc- 
tions, without the necessity of human labour : everywhere corn, 
fruit, and flowers delighted the eye ; the cotton-plant produced 
its woof already dyed by nature with various hues ; aromatic 
odours pervaded the air ; and on all sides resounded the melo- 
dious notes of singing-birds. The lazy Mexican naturally looks 
back to this period as the " golden age ;" and as this popular and 
beneficent deity, on his departure from earth, promised faithfully 
to return and revisit the people he loved so well, this event is 
confidently expected to the present day. Quetzalcoatl embarked, 
in his boat of rattlesnake-skins, on the Gulf of Mexico ; and as 



chap, xxin.] MEXICAN MIGRATIONS. 193 

he was seen to steer to the eastward, his arrival is consequently- 
looked for from that quarter. When the Spaniards arrived from 
the east, as they resembled the god in the colour of their skin, 
they were at first generally supposed to be messengers from, or 
descendants of, the god of air. 

This tradition is common to the nations even of the far-off 
north, and in New Mexico the belief is still clung to by the 
Pueblo Indians, who in a solitary cave of the mountains have 
for centuries continued their patient vigils by the undying fire ; 
and its dim light may still be seen by the wandering hunter 
glimmering from the recesses of a cave, when, led by the chase, 
he passes in the vicinity of this humble and lonely temple. 

Far to the north, in the country of the Moquis, the hunters 
have passed, wonderingly, ruins of large cities, and towns in- 
habited by Indians, of the same construction as those of the 
Pueblos, and identical with the casas grandes on the Gila and 
elsewhere. 

In the absence of any evidence, traditionary or otherwise, on 
which to found an hypothesis as to the probable cause of the 
migration of the Mexicans from the north, I have surmised that 
it is just possible that they may have abandoned that region on 
account of the violent volcanic convulsions which, from the 
testimony of people who have visited these regions, I have no 
doubt have at a comparatively recent period agitated that portion 
of the country ; and from my own knowledge the volcanic forma- 
tions become gradually more recent as they advance to the north 
along the whole table-land from Mexico to Santa Fe. These 
disturbances may have led to their frequent changes of re- 
sidence, and ultimate arrival in the south. If their object was 
to fly from such constantly recurring commotions, their course 
would naturally be to the south, where they might expect a 
genial soil and climate, in a direction in which they might also 
avoid the numerous and warlike nations who inhabited the 
regions south of their abandoned country. Thus we find the 
remains of the towns built in the course of their migration, 
generally in insulated spots of fertility, oases in the vast and 
barren tracts they w 7 ere obliged to traverse, which spread from 
the shores of the great salt-lake of the north towards the valley 
of the Gila, and still southward along the ridges of the Cordil- 

rO 



194 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxiii. 

lera, which, a continuation of the Andes chain, stretch far away 
to the southern portion of the country. 

The Indians of Northern Mexico, including the Pueblos, 
belong to the same family — the Apache ; from which branch 
the Navajos, Apaches Coyoteros, Mescaleros, Moquis, Yubipias, 
Maricopas, Chiricaquis, Chemeguabas, Yumayas (the two last 
tribes of the Moqui), and the Nijoras, a small tribe on the Gila. 
All these speak dialects of the same language, more or less 
approximating to the Apache, and of all of which the idiomatic 
structure is the same. They likewise all understand each other's 
tongue. What relation this language bears to the Mexican is 
unknown, but my impression is that it will be found to assimilate 
greatly, if not to be identical. 

The Pueblo Indians of Taos, Pecuris, and Acoma speak a 
language of which a dialect is used by those of the Rio Abajo, 
including the Pueblos of San Felipe, Sandia, Ysleta, and Xemez. 
They are eminently distinguished from the New Mexicans in 
their social and moral character, being industrious, sober, honest, 
brave, and at the same time peaceably inclined if their rights are 
not infringed. Although the Pueblos are nominally Cristianos, 
and have embraced the outward forms of la santa fe Catolica, 
they yet, in fact, still cling to the belief of their fathers, and 
celebrate in secret the ancient rites of their religion. The aged 
and devout of both sexes may still be often seen on their flat 
house-tops, with their faces turned to the rising sun, and their 
gaze fixed in that direction from whence they expect, sooner or 
later, the god of air will make his appearance. They are 
careful, however, not to practise any of their rites before 
strangers, and ostensibly conform to the ceremonies of the Roman 
Church. 

In the country of the Moquis are the remains of five cities of 
considerable extent, the foundations and some of the walls of 
which (of stone) are still standing, and on the sites of some they 
still inhabit villages, the houses of which are frequently built of 
the materials found amongst the ruins. A great quantity of broken 
pottery is found wherever these remains exist, the same in form 
and material as the relics of the same kind preserved in the city 
of Mexico. The ruins on the Gila, in particular, abound in 
these remains, and I have been assured that for many miles the 



chap, xxiii.] INDIAN TRIBES— THE MOQUIS. 105 

plain is strewed with them. There are also remains of acequias, 
or irrigating canals, of great length and depth. 

The five pueblos in- the Moqui are Orayxa, Masanais, 
Jongoapi, Gualpi, and another, the name of which is not known. 
This tribe is, curiously enough, known to the trappers and 
hunters of the mountains as the Welsh Indians. They are, they 
say, much fairer in complexion than other tribes, and have several 
individuals amongst them perfectly white, with light hair. The 
latter circumstance is accounted for by the frequent occurrence 
amongst the Navajos, and probably the Moquis also, of albinos, 
with the Indian feature, but light complexions, eyes, and 
hair. 

In connection with this, I may mention a curious circum- 
stance which happened to me, and tends to show that there is 
some little foundation for the belief of the trappers, that the 
Moqui Indians are descendants of the followers of Prince 
Madoc. 

I happened on my arrival at the frontier of the United States 
(at Fort Leavenworth) to enter the log hut of an old negro 
woman, being at the time in my mountain attire of buckskins, 
over which was thrown a Moqui or Navajo blanket, as it was 
wet weather. The old dame's attention was called to it by its 
varied and gaudy colours, and, examining it carefully for some 
time, she exclaimed, " That's a Welsh blanket ; I know it by 
the woof! " She had, she told me, in her youth, lived for many 
years in a Welsh family and in a Welsh settlement in Virginia, 
or one of the southern States, and had learned their method of 
working, which was the same as that displayed in my blanket, 
The blankets and tilmas manufactured by the Navajos, Moquis, 
and the Pueblos, are of excellent quality, and dyed in durable 
and bright colours : the warp is of cotton filled with wool, the 
texture close and impervious to rain. Their pottery is, as I 
have before remarked, the same as that manufactured by the 
Aztecs, painted in bright patterns by coloured earths and the 
juice of several plants. The dress of the Pueblos is a mixture of 
their ancient costume with that introduced by the Spaniards. A 
tilma, or small blanket without sleeves, is worn over the shoulder, 
and their legs and feet are protected by mocassins and leggings 
of deerskin or woollen stuff. Their heads are uncovered, and 

o 2 



196 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxiii. 

their hair long and unconfined, save the centre or scalp lock, 
which is usually bound with gay-coloured ribbon. The women's 
dress is the same as that of the squaws of the wild Indians of 
the prairies, generally covered with a bright-coloured blanket, 
or a mantle of cloth. 

The Pueblo Indians have been more than once the chief actors 
in the many insurrections which have disturbed this remote pro- 
vince. In 1837 they overturned the government, killing the 
incapable man at the head of it, as they had done his predecessor, 
and placing one of their own party at the head of affairs. Re- 
cently they rose upon the Americans, who have taken possession 
of the country, and, in conjunction with the Mexicans, massacred 
Governor Bent and many others. They were defeated by the 
American troops in a pitched battle at La Canada, but de- 
fended most gallantly their chief pueblo (of Taos), which was 
taken and destroyed after a desperate resistance. 

Although I had determined to remain some time in Santa Fe 
to recruit my animals, I was so disgusted with the filth of the 
town, and the disreputable society a stranger was forced into, 
that in a very few days I once more packed my mules, and pro- 
ceeded to the north, through the valley of Taos. 

It was a cold, snowy day on which I left Santa Fe, and the 
mountain, although here of inconsiderable elevation, was difficult 
to cross on account of the drifts. My mules, too, were for the 
first time introduced to snow on a large scale, and, by their careful, 
mincing steps and cautious movements, testified their doubts as 
to the security of such a road. The mountain is covered with 
pine and cedar, and the road winds through the bed of an arroyo, 
between high banks now buried in the snow. Not a living thing 
was visible, but once a large grey wolf was surprised on our 
turning a corner of rock, and in his hurry to escape plunged 
into a snowdrift, where I could easily have despatched the animal 
with a pistol, but Panchito was in such a state of affright 
that nothing would induce him to stand still or approach the 
spot. 

Over ridges and through mountain-gorges we passed into a 
small valley, where the pueblo of Ohuaqui afforded me shelter 
for the night, and a warm stable with plenty of corn for my ani- 
mals, a luxury they had long been unaccustomed to. 



chap, xxiti.] PUEBLO INDIANS. 197 

I was here made welcome by the Indian family, who prepared 
my supper of frijoles and atole, the last the dish of New Mexico. 
It is made of the Indian meal, mixed with water into a thick 
gruel, and thus eaten — an insipid compound. Far more agree- 
able is the pinole of the tierra afuera, which is the meal of 
parched maize, mixed with sugar and spices, and of which a 
handful in a pint of water makes a most cooling and agreeable 
drink, and is the great standby of the arrieros and road-travellers 
in that starving country. 

The patrona of the family seemed rather shy of me at first, 
until, in the course of conversation, she discovered that I was an 
Englishman. " Gracias a Dios," she exclaimed, u a Christian 
will sleep with us to-night, and not an American ! " 

I found over all New Mexico that the most bitter feeling and 
most determined hostility existed against the Americans, who 
certainly in Santa Fe and elsewhere have not been very anxious 
to conciliate the people, but by their bullying and overbearing 
demeanour towards them, have in a great measure been the cause 
of this hatred, which shortly after broke out in an organized 
rising of the northern part of the province, and occasioned 
great loss of life to both parties . 

After supper the women of the family spread the floor with 
blankets, and every one, myself included, cigar in mouth, lay 
down — to the number of fifteen — in a space of less than that 
number of square feet ; men, women, and children, all smoking 
and chattering. Just over my head were roosting several fowls ; 
and one venerable cock every five minutes saluted us with a 
shrill crow r , to the infinite satisfaction of the old Indian, who 
at every fresh one exclaimed, "Ay, como canta mi gallo, tan 
claro !" — how clear sings my cock, the fine fellow ! " Yalgame 
Dios ! que paxarito tan hermoso !" — what a lovely little bird is 
this! 

The next clay, passing the miserable village of La Canada, and 
the Indian pueblo of San Juan, both situated in a wretched, sterile- 
looking country, we reached El Embudo — the funnel — where I 
put up in the house of an old Canadian trapper, who had taken 
to himself a Mexican wife, and was ending his days as a quiet 
ranchero. He appeared to have forgotten the plenty of the 
mountains, for his pretty daughter set before us for supper a plate 



193 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxiii. 

containing six small pieces of fat pork, like dice, floating in a sea 
of grease, hot and red with chile Colorado. 

We crossed, next day, a range of mountains covered with pine 
and cedar : on the latter grew great quantities of mistletoe, and 
the contrast of its bright green and the sombre hue of the cedars 
was very striking. The snow was melting on the ascent, which 
was exposed to the sun, and made the road exceedingly slippery 
and tiring to the animals. On reaching the summit a fine prospect 
presented itself. The Rocky Mountains, stretching away on each 
side of me, here divided into several branches, whose isolated 
peaks stood out in bold relief against the clear, cold sky. Val- 
leys and plains lay between them, through which the river 
wound its way in deep canons. In the distance was the snowy 
summit of the Sierra Nevada, bright with the rays of the setting 
sun, and at my feet lay the smiling vale of Taos, with its nume- 
rous villages and the curiously constructed pueblos of the Indians. 
Snow-covered mountains surrounded it, whose ridges were 
flooded with light, while the valley was almost shrouded in gloom 
and darkness. 

On descending I was obliged to dismount and lead my horse, 
whose feet, balled with- snow, were continually slipping from 
under him. After sunset the cold was intense, and, wading 
through the snow, my mocassins became frozen, so that I was 
obliged to travel quickly to prevent my feet from being frost- 
bitten. It was quite dark when I reached the plain, and the 
night was so obscure that the track was perfectly hidden, and my 
only guide was the distant lights of the villages. Coming to a 
frozen brook, the mules refused to cross the ice, and I spent an 
hour in fruitless attempts to induce them. I could find nothing at 
hand with which to break the ice, and at length, half frozen, was 
obliged to turn back and retrace my steps to a rancho, which the 
Indian boy who was my guide said was about a mile distant. 
This I at length reached, though not before one of my feet was 
frost-bitten, and my hands so completely numbed by the excessive 
cold that I was unable to unpack the mules when I got in. To 
protect the poor animals from the cold, as there was no stable to 
place them in, I devoted the whole of my bedding to cover them, 
reserving to myself only a sarape, which, however, by the side 
of a blazing wood fire, was sufficient to keep me warm. The 



chap, xxiii.] FERNANDEZ. 193 

good lady of the house sent me a huge bowl of atole as I was 
engaged in clothing the animals, which I offered to Panchito as 
soon as the messenger's back was turned, and he swallowed it, 
boiling hot as it was, with great gusto. 

The next morning, with the assistance of some rancheros, I 
crossed the stream, and arrived at Fernandez, which is the most 
considerable village in the valley. 



/ 



200 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxiv. 



CHAPTER XXIY. 

Valley of Taos — Fernandez — Governor Bent — Start to the Mountains — Half- 
breed Guide — Mules and Ice — Benighted — Shelter — Hospitality — Arroyo 
Hondo — Turley's — Mormons — Cross Mountain — Feet Frozen — Rio Co- 
lorado — Mexican Valientes — Canadian Trapper — Valley of Red River — 
State of the Settlement — Adios Mejico ! 

El Valle de Taos is situated about eighty miles to the north- 
ward of Santa Fe, on the eastern side of the Del Norte. It con- 
tains several villages or rancherias, the largest of which are 
Fernandez and El Eancho. The population of the valley may 
be estimated at eight thousand, including the Pueblo Indians. 
The soil is exceedingly fertile, and produces excellent wheat and 
other grain. The climate being rigorous, and the summers 
short, fruit does not ripen to perfection, but vegetables of all 
kinds are good and abundant, onions in particular growing to 
great size and of excellent flavour. The climate is colder than at 
Santa Fe, the thermometer sometimes falling to zero in winter, 
and seldom rising above 75° in summer ; the nights in summer 
being delightfully cool, but in winter piercingly cold. Although 
generally healthy, infectious disorders are sometimes prevalent 
and fatal ; and periodical epidemics have on several occasions 
nearly decimated the inhabitants. 

In all maps the valley of Taos is confounded with a city which 
under that name appears in them, but which does not exist, 
Fernandez being the chief town of the valley, and no such town 
as Taos to be found. The valley derives its name from the 
Taoses, a tribe of Indians who once inhabited it, and the remains 
of which inhabit a pueblo under the mountain about seven miles 
from Fernandez. Humboldt mentions Taos as a city containing 
8900 inhabitants. Its latitude is about 36° 30', longitude 
between 105° 30' and 106° west of Greenwich, but its exact 
position has never been accurately determined. The extent of 
the valley from El Rancho to Arroyo Hondo is seventeen miles, 



chap, xxiv.] MASSACRE OF GOVERNOR BENT. 201 



the breadth from the Del Norte to the mountains about the 
same. 

Several distilleries are worked both at Fernandez and El Rancho, 
the latter better known to Americans as The Ranch. Most 
of them belong to Americans, who are generally trappers and 
hunters, who having married Taos women have settled here. The 
Taos whisky, a raw fiery spirit which they manufacture, has 
a ready market in the mountains amongst the trappers and 
hunters, and the Indian traders, who find the " fire-water " 
the most profitable article of trade with the aborigines, who ex- 
change for it their buffalo robes and other peltries at a " tre- 
mendous sacrifice/' 

In Fernandez I was hospitably entertained in the house of an 
American named Lee, who had for many years traded and 
trapped in the mountains, but who now, having married a Mexi- 
can woman, had set up a distillery and was amassing a consider- 
able fortune. He gave me a pressing invitation to stop the 
winter with him, which I was well inclined to accept, if I could 
have obtained good pasture for my animals ; that, however, was 
not to be had, and I continued my journey. A few days after 
my departure, Lee's house was attacked by the Mexicans, at the 
time when they massacred Governor Bent in the same village, 
and himself killed, with every foreigner in the place excepting 
the brother of Lee, who was protected by the priest and saved 
by him from the savage fury of the mob. 

Bent, as well as Lee, had resided many years in New Mexico, 
both having wives and children in the country, and were sup- 
posed to have been much esteemed by the people. The former 
was an old trader amongst the Indians, and the owner of Bent's 
Fort, or Fort William, a trading-post on the Arkansa, well 
known for its hospitality to travellers in the far west. From 
his knowledge of the country and the Mexican character, Mr. 
Bent had been appointed Governor of New Mexico by General 
Kearney, and it was during a temporary visit to his family at 
Fernandez that he was killed in their presence, and scalped and 
mutilated, by a mob of Pueblos and the people of Taos. 

William Bent was one of those hardy sons of enterprise with 
whom America abounds, who, from love of dangerous adventure, 
forsake the quiet monotonous life of the civilized world for the 



202 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxiv 

excitement of a sojourn in the far west. For many years he 
traded with Indians on the Platte and Arkansa, winning golden 
opinions from the poor Indians for his honesty and fair dealing, 
and the greatest popularity from the hardy trappers and 
mountaineers for his firmness of character and personal bravery. 

Notwithstanding the advice I received not to attempt such a 
journey at this season, I determined to cross the mountains and 
winter on the other side, either at the head of Arkansa or Platte, 
or in some of the mountain-valleys, which are the wintering 
places of many of the trappers and mountain-men. I therefore 
hired a half-breed Pueblo as a guide, who, by the by, was one 
of the most rascally-looking of rascally Mexicans, and on the 1st 
of January was once more on my way. 

I left Fernandez late in the day, as I intended to proceed only 
twelve miles to Arroyo Hondo, and there remain for the night. 
After proceeding a mile or two we came to a stream about 
thirty feet in breadth and completely frozen. Here the mules 
came to a stop, and nothing would induce them to attempt to 
cross. Even the last resource, that of crossing myself on Pan- 
chito, and pretending to ride "away with their favourite, entirely 
failed, although they ran up and down the bank bellowing with 
affright, smelling the ice, feeling it with their fore feet, and, 
throwing up their heads, would gallop to another point, and up 
and down, in great commotion. At length I had to take a pole, 
which was opportunely lying near, and break the ice away, 
having to remove the broken blocks entirely before they would 
attempt it. With all this, however, my old hunting-mule still 
refused ; but, as I knew she would not be left behind, I pro- 
ceeded on with the rest. At this she became frantic, galloped 
away from the river, returned, bellowed and cried, and at last, 
driven to desperation, she made a jump right into the air, but 
not near the broken place, and came down like a lump of lead 
on the top of the ice, which, of course, smashed under her weight, 
and down she went into a deep hole, her head just appearing out 
of the water, which was " mush" with ice. In this "fix" she 
remained perfectly still, apparently conscious that her own exer- 
tions would be unavailing ; and I therefore had to return, and, 
up to my middle in water, break her out of the ice, expecting 
every moment to see her drop frozen to death. At last, and 



chap, xxiv.] FALL INTO A SNOW-DRIFT. 203 

with great Iabour 5 I extricated her, when she at once ran up to 
the horse and hinnied her delight at the meeting. 

By this time it was pitchy dark, and the cold had become 
intense ; my mocassins and deerskin leggings were frozen hard 
and stiff, and my feet and legs in a fair way of becoming in the 
same state. There was no road or track, the snow everywhere 
covering the country, and my guide had evidently lost his way. 
However, I asked him in which direction he thought Arroyo 
Hondo to be, and pushed straight on for it, floundering through 
the snow, and falling into holes and ravines, and at length was 
brought to a dead halt, my horse throwing himself on his haunches, 
and just saving his master and himself a fall down a precipice some 
500 feet in depth, which formed one side of the Arroyo Hondo. 

The lights of the rancho to which we were bound twinkled at 
the bottom, but to attempt to reach it, without knowing the road 
down the ravine, was like jumping from the top of the Monument. 
However, as I felt I was on the point qf freezing to death, I be- 
came desperate and charged the precipice, intending to roll down 
with Panchito, if we could not do better ; but the horse refused to 
move, and presently, starting to one side as I spurred him, fell 
headlong into a snow-drift some twenty feet in depth, where I lay 
under him ; and, satisfied in my mind that I was " in extremis," 
wished myself further from Arroyo Hondo and deplored my evil 
destiny. Panchito, however, managed to kick himself out ; and 
I, half smothered and with one of my ribs disabled, soon followed 
his example, and again mounted. We presently came to a little 
adobe house, and a man, hearing our cries to each other in the 
dark, came out with a light. To my request for a night's lodging 
he replied, " No se puede, no habia mas que un quartito " — that 
there was no room, but one little chamber, but that at the rancho I 
would be well accommodated. With this hint I moved on, freezing 
in my saddle, and again attempted to descend, but the darkness was 
pitchy, and the road a wall. Whilst attempting the descent once 
more, a light appeared on the bank above us, and a female voice 
crying out, " Yuelvase amigo, por Dios ! que no se baja " — 
return, friend, for God's sake ! and don't attempt to go down. 
" Que vengan, pobrecitos, para calentarse " — come, poor fellows, 
and warm yourselves. " Por hi se sube, por hi " — this way 
this is the way up — she cried to us, holding up the light to 



204 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxiv. 

direct our steps. " Ay de mi, como suffren los pobres via^eros ! " 
— alas, what poor travellers suffer ! — she exclaimed, eying our 
frozen appearance, and clothes white with snow ; and, still hold- 
ing up the light, she led the way to her house, where now, 
lectured by his wife for his inhospitality, the man who had 
sent us away from his door bestirred himself to unpack the 
mules, which, with our numbed hands, it was impossible for us 
to do. 

A little shed full of corn-shucks (the leaf of the maize, of which 
animals are very fond) provided a warm shelter for the shiver- 
ing beasts ; and having attended to their wants, and piled before 
them enough hoja for a regiment of cavalry, I entered the house, 
where half a dozen women were soon rubbing life into my hands 
and feet, which were badly frost-bitten, whilst others were busy 
preparing atole and chile, and making tortillas on the hearth. 

A white stone marks this day of my journey, when, for the 
first time, I met with native hospitality on Arroyo Hondo. In 
this family, which consisted of about fifteen souls, six were on 
their beds, suffering from sarampion — the measles — which was 
at the time of my journey carrying off many, victims in Santa Fe 
and Taos Yalley. An old crone was busy decocting simples in 
a large olla over the fire. She asked me to taste it, giving it the 
name of aceite de vivoras — rattlesnake-oil ; and as I expressed 
my disgust by word and deed at the intimation, which just saved 
my taking a gulp, the old lady was convulsed with laughter, 
giving me to understand that it was not really viper-oil, but was 
so called — no mas. This pot, when cooked, was set on one side, 
and all the patients, one after the other, craw r led from their 
blankets and imbibed the decoction from a gourd. One of the 
sick was the mother of the family, who had run after us to bring 
us back when her husband had told her of our situation — one 
instance of the many which I have met of the kindness of heart 
of Mexican women. 

The next morning we descended into the Arroyo, and even in 
daylight the track down was exceedingly dangerous, and to have 
attempted it in the dark would have been an act of no little 
temerity. On the other bank of the stream was situated a mill 
and distillery belonging to an American by the name of Turley, 
who had quite a thriving establishment. Sheep and goats, and 



chap, xxiv.] MEXICAN GRATITUDE— MORMONS. 205 

innumerable hogs, ran about the corral ; his barns were filled 
with grain of all kinds, his mill with flour, and his cellars with 
whisky " in galore." Everything about the place betokened 
prosperity. Rosy clwldren, uniting the fair complexions of the 
Anglo-Saxon with the dark tint of the Mexican, gambolled before 
the door. The Mexicans and Indians at work in the yard were 
stout, well-fed fellows, looking happy and contented ; as well 
they might, for no one in the country paid so well, and fed so 
well, as Turley, who bore the reputation, far and near, of being 
as generous and kind-hearted as he was reported to be rich. In 
times of scarcity no Mexican ever besought his assistance and 
went away empty-handed. His granaries were always open to 
the hungry, and his purse to the poor. 

Three days after I was there they attacked his house, burned 
his mill, destroyed his grain and his live stock, and inhumanly 
butchered himself and the foreigners with him, after a gallant 
defence of twenty-four hours — nine men against five hundred. 
Such is Mexican gratitude. 

I here laid in a small supply of provisions, flour and dried 
buffalo-meat, and got besides a good breakfast — rather a memor- 
able occurrence. Just as I arrived, a party of Mormons, who 
had left Colonel Cooke's command on their way to California, 
and were now about to cross the mountains to join a large body 
of their people who were wintering on the Arkansa, intending 
to proceed to California in the ensuing spring, were on the point 
of starting. There were some twelve or fifteen of them, raw- 
boned fanatics, with four or five pack-mules carrying their pro- 
visions, themselves on foot. They started several hours before 
me ; but I overtook them before they had crossed the mountain, 
straggling along, some seated on the top of the mules' packs, 
some sitting down every few hundred yards, and all looking tired 
and miserable. One of the party was an Englishman, from Bid- 
denden, in Kent, and an old Peninsular soldier. I asked what 
could have induced him to have undertaken such an expedition. 
He looked at me, and, without answering the question, said, 
" Dang it, if I only once get hoam I" 

Arroyo Hondo runs along the base of a ridge of mountain of 
moderate elevation, which divides the valley of Taos from that 
of Rio Colorado, or Red River, both running into the Del Norte. 



206 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxiv. 

The trail from one to the other runs through and over the 
mountain, a distance of about twelve miles. It is covered with 
pine and cedar and a species of dwarf oak ; and numerous small 
streamlets run through the canons and gorges. Near these grows 
plentifully a shrub which produces a fruit called by the moun- 
taineers service-berries, of a dark blue, the size of a small grape, 
and of very pleasant flavour. 

My animals, unused to mountain travelling, proceeded very 
slowly. Every little stream of frozen water was the cause of 
delay. The mules, on reaching the brink, always held a council 
of war, smelt and tried it with their fore feet, and bellowed forth 
their dislike of the slippery bridge. Coronela, my hunting-mule, 
since her mishap at Fernandez, was always the first to cross, but 
I had first to strew the ice with branches, or throw a blanket over 
it, before I could induce them to pass ; and at last, tired of the 
delays thus occasioned, I passed with the horse, and left the 
mules to use their own discretion, although not unfrequently 
half an hour or more would elapse before they overtook me. 

All this day I marched on foot through the snow, as Panchito 
made sad work of ascending and descending the mountain, and 
it was several hours after sunset when I arrived at Rio Colorado, 
with one of my feet badly frozen. In the settlement, which 
boasted about twenty houses, on inquiry as to where I could 
procure a corral and hoja for the animals, I was directed to the 
house of a French Canadian — an old trapper named Laforey — 
one of the many who are found in these remote settlements, with 
Mexican wives, and passing the close of their adventurous lives 
in what to them is a state of ease and plenty ; that is, they grow 
sufficient maize to support them, their faithful and well-tried rifles 
furnishing them with meat in abundance, to be had in all the 
mountains for the labour of hunting. 

I was obliged to remain here two days, for my foot was so 
badly frozen that I was quite unable to put it to the ground. 
In this place I found that the Americans were in bad odour ; 
and as I was equipped as a mountaineer, I came in for a toler- 
able share of abuse whenever I limped through the village. As 
my lameness prevented me from pursuing my tormentors, they 
were unusually daring, saluting me, every time I passed to the 
shed where my animals were corralled, with cries of " Burro, 



chap, xxiv.] A HUNTER'S ESTABLISHMENT. 207 

burro, ven a comer hoja " (Jackass, jackass, come here and eat 
shucks), " Anda coxo, a ver los burros, sus hermanos" (Hallo, 
game- leg, go and see your brothers, the donkeys) ; and at last, 
words not being found heavy enough, pieces of adobe rattled at 
my ears. This, however, was a joke rather too practical to be 
pleasant ; so, the next time I limped to the stable, I carried my 
rifle on my shoulder, which was a hint never to be mistaken by 
Mexican, and hereafter I passed with impunity. However, I was 
obliged to watch my animals day and night, for, as soon as I fed 
them, either the corn was bodily stolen, or a herd of hogs was 
driven in to feed at my expense. The latter aggression I put a 
stop to by administering to one persevering porker a pill from 
my rifle, and promised the threatening crowd that I would have 
as little compunction in letting the same amount of daylight into 
them if I caught them thieving the provender ; and they seemed 
to think me in earnest, for I missed no more corn or shucks. I 
saw plainly enough, however, that my remaining here, with such 
a perfectly lawless and ruffianly crew, was likely to lead me into 
some trouble, if, indeed, my life was not in absolute danger, 
which, from what occurred shortly after, I have now no doubt 
it was ; and therefore I only waited until my foot was suffi- 
ciently recovered to enable me to resume my journey across the 
mountains. 

The fare in Laforey's house was what might be expected in a 
hunter's establishment : venison, antelope, and the meat of the 
carnero cimarron, the Rocky Mountain sheep, furnished his 
larder ; and such meat (poor and tough at this season of the year), 
with cakes of Indian meal, either tortillas or gorditas,* furnished 
the daily bill of fare. The absence of coffee he made the theme 
of regret at every meal, bewailing his misfortune in not having 
at that particular moment a supply of this article, which he never 
before was without, and which I may here observe, amongst the 
hunters and trappers when in camp or rendezvous, is considered 
as an indispensable necessary. Coffee, being very cheap in the 
States, is the universal beverage of the western people, and finds 
its way to the mountains in the packs of the Indian traders, who 
retail it to the mountain-men at the moderate price of from two 

* The tortilla is a round flat pancake, made of the Indian corn-meal ; the 
gordita is of the same material, but thicker. 



203 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxiv. 

to six dollars the half-pint cup. However, my friend Laforey 
was never known to possess any, and his lamentations were only 
intended to soften my heart, as he thought (erroneously) that I 
must certainly carry a supply with me. 

" Sacre enfant de Garce," he would exclaim, mixing English, 
French, and Spanish into a puchero-like jumble, " voyez-vous 
dat I vas nevare tan pauvre as dis time ; mais before I vas 
siempre avec plenty cafe, plenty sucre ; mais now, God dam, I 
not go a Santa Fe, God dam, and mountain-men dey come aqui 
from autre cote, drink all my cafe. Sacre enfant de Garce, nevare 
I vas tan pauvre as dis time, God dam. I not care comer meat, 
ni frijole, ni corn, mais widout cafe I no live. I hunt may be 
two, three day, may be one week, mais I eat notin ; mais sin 
cafe, enfant de Garce, I no live, parceque me not sacre Espagnol, 
mais one Frenchman." 

Rio Colorado is the last and most northern settlement or 
Mexico, and is distant from Vera Cruz 2000 miles. It contains 
perhaps fifteen families, or a population of fifty souls, including 
one or two Yuta Indians, by sufferance of whom the New 
Mexicans have settled this valley, thus ensuring to the politic 
savages a supply of corn or cattle without the necessity of under- 
taking a raid on Taos or Santa Fe whenever they require a re- 
mount. This was the reason given me by a Yuta for allowing 
the encroachment on their territory. 

The soil of theValley is fertile, the little strip of land which 
comprises it yielding grain in abundance, and being easily irri- 
gated from the stream, the banks of which are low. The plain 
abounds with alegria, the plant from which the juice is extracted 
with which the belles of Nuevo Mejico cosmetically preserve 
their complexions. The neighbouring mountains afford plenty 
of large game — deer, bears, mountain-sheep, and elk; and the 
plains are covered with countless herds of antelope, which, in the 
winter, hang about the foot of the sierras, which shield them 
from the icy winds. 

No state of society can be more wretched or degrading than 
the social and moral condition of the inhabitants of New Mexico : 
but in this remote settlement, anything I had formerly imagined 
to be the ne plus ultra of misery, fell far short of the reality : — such 
is the degradation of the people of the Rio Colorado. Growing a 



chap, xxiv.] THE YUT 209 



bare sufficiency for their own support, they hold the little land 
they cultivate, and their wretched hovels, on sufferance from the 
barbarous Yutas, who actually tolerate their presence in their 
country for the sole purpose of having at their command a stock 
of grain and a herd of mules and horses, which they make no 
scruple of helping themselves to, whenever they require a remount 
or a supply of farinaceous food. Moreover, when a war expedi- 
tion against a hostile tribe has failed, and no scalps have been 
secured to ensure the returning warriors a welcome to their 
village, the Rio Colorado is a kind of game-preserve, where 
the Yutas have a certainty of filling their bag if their other 
covers draw blank. Here they can always depend upon pro- 
curing a few brace of Mexican scalps, when such trophies are 
required for a war-dance or other festivity, without danger to 
themselves, and merely for the trouble of fetching them. 

Thus, half the year, the settlers fear to leave their houses, and 
their corn and grain often remain uncut, the Indians being near : 
thus the valiant Mexicans refuse to leave the shelter of their 
burrows even to secure their only food. At these times their 
sufferings are extreme, being reduced to the verge of starvation ; 
and the old Canadian hunter told me that he and his son entirely 
supported the people on several occasions by the produce of their 
rifles, while the maize was lying rotting in the fields. There 
are sufficient men in the settlement to exterminate the Yutas, 
were they not entirely devoid of courage ; but, as it is, they 
allow themselves to be bullied and ill-treated with the most per- 
fect impunity. 

Against these same Indians a party of a dozen Shawnee and 
Delaware trappers waged a long and most destructive war, until 
at last the Yutas were fain to beg for peace, after losing many 
of their most famous warriors and chiefs. The cowardly 
Mexicans, however, have seldom summoned courage to strike a 
blow in their own defence, and are so thoroughly despised by their 
savage enemies, that they never scruple to attack them, however 
large the party, or in spite of the greatest disparity in numbers 
between them. 

On the third day, the inflammation in my frost-bitten foot 
having in some measure subsided, I again packed my mules, and, 



210 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxiv. 

under a fusillade of very hard names from the pelados, turned 
my back on Mexico and the Mexicans. 

Laforey escorted me out of the settlement to point out the 
trail (for roads now had long ceased), and, bewailing his hard fate 
in not having " plenty cafe avec sucre, God dam," with a con- 
cluding enfant de Garce, he bid me good by, and recommended 
me to mind my hair — in other words, look out for my scalp. 
Cresting a bluff which rose from the valley, I turned in my 
saddle, took a last look of the adobes, and, without one regret, 
cried " Adios, Mejico !" 

I had now turned my back on the last settlement, and felt a 
thrill of pleasure as I looked at the wild expanse of snow which 
lay before me, and the towering mountains which frowned on 
all sides, and knew that now I had seen the last (for some time 
at least) of civilized man under the garb of a Mexican sarape. 



chap, xxv.] LEAVE RED RIVER— ANTELOPE. 211 



CHAPTER XXV. 

Leave Red River — Antelope — A Shot — Wolves — Camp on Rib Creek — 
Snake Creek — Yuta Trail — Bowl Creek — Sociable Wolf — Day's Journey 
— El Vallecito — The Wind Trap — Comfortless Camp — Cross Wind Trap 
— View from Summit — Dismal Scene — Sufferings from Cold — Orphan 
Creek — Isolated Butte — The Greenhorn — Trappers' Lodges — Mountain- 
eers — The San Carlos— Strike the Arkansa. 

Our course on leaving Red River was due north, my object 
being to strike the Arkansa near its head-waters on the other 
side of the Rocky Mountains, and follow as near as possible the 
Yuta trail, which these Indians use in passing from the Del 
Norte to the Bayou Salado, on their annual buffalo-hunts to that 
elevated valley. 

Skirting a low range of mountains, the trail passes a valley 
upwards of fifty miles in length, intersected by numerous streams 
(called creeks by the mountain-men), which rise in the neigh- 
bouring highlands, and fall into the Del Norte, near its upper 
waters. Our first day's journey, of about twenty -five miles, led 
through the uplands at the southern extremity of the valley. 
These are covered with pine and cedar, and the more open plains 
with bushes of wild sage, which is the characteristic plant in all 
the elevated plains of the Rocky Mountains. On emerging from 
the uplands, we entered a level prairie, covered with innumerable 
herds of antelope. These graceful animals, in bands containing 
several thousands, trotted up to us, and, with pointed ears and 
their beautiful eyes staring with eager curiosity, accompanied us 
for miles, running parallel to our trail within fifty or sixty 
yards. 

The cold in these regions is more intense than I ever re- 
member to have experienced, not excepting even in Lower 
Canada ; and when a northerly wind sweeps over the bleak and 
barren plains, charged as it is with its icy reinforcements from 
the snow-clad mountains, it assails the unfortunate traveller, 

p 2 



212 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c [chap. xxv. 



exposed to all its violence, with blood-freezing blasts, piercing 
to his very heart and bones. 

Such was the state of congelation I was in on this day that 
even the shot-tempting antelope bounded past unscathed. My 
hands, with fingers of stone, refused even to hold the reins of 
my horse, who travelled as he pleased, sometimes slueing round 
his stern to the wind, which was " dead ahead." Mattias, the 
half-breed who was my guide, enveloped from head to foot in 
blanket, occasionally cast a longing glance from out its folds at 
the provoking venison as it galloped past, muttering at intervals, 
" Jesus, Jesus, que carne " — what meat we're losing ! At length, 
as a band of some three thousand almost ran over us, human 
nature, although at freezing-point, could no longer stand it. I 
jumped off Panchito, and, kneeling down, sent a ball from my 
rifle right into the " thick " of the band. At the report two 
antelopes sprang into the air, their forms being distinct against 
the horizon above the backs of the rest ; and when the herd had 
passed, they were lying kicking in the dust, one shot in the neck, 
through which the ball had passed into the body of another. 
We packed a mule with the choice pieces of the meat, which was 
a great addition to our slender stock of dried provisions. As I 
was " butchering" the antelope, half a dozen wolves hung 
round the spot, attracted by the smell of blood ; they were so 
tame, and hungry at the same time, that I thought they would 
actually have torn the meat from under my knife. Two of them 
loped round and round, gradually decreasing their distance, 
occasionally squatting on their haunches, and licking their im- 
patient lips, in anxious expectation of a coming feast. I threw 
a large piece of meat towards them, when the whole gang jumped 
upon it, fighting and growling, and tearing each other in the 
furious melee. I am sure I might have approached near enough 
to have seized one by the tail, so entirely regardless of my 
vicinity did they appear. They were doubtless rendered more 
ravenous than usual by the uncommon severity of the weather, 
and, from the fact of the antelope congregating in large bands, 
were unable to prey upon these animals, which are their favourite 
food. Although rarely attacking a man, yet in such seasons as 
the present I have no doubt that they would not hesitate to 
charge upon a solitary traveller in the night, particularly as in 



chap. xxv.J RIB CREEK— SNAKE CREEK. 213 

winter they congregate in troops of from ten to fifty. They 
are so abundant in the mountains, that the hunter takes no notice 
of them, and seldom throws away upon the skulking- beasts a 
charge of powder and lead. 

This night we camped on Rib Creek, the Costilla of the 
New-Mexican hunters, where there was no grass for our poor 
animals, and the creek was frozen to such a depth, that, after 
the greatest exertions in breaking a hole through the ice, which 
was nearly a foot thick, they were unable to reach the water. 
It is a singular fact that during intense cold horses and mules 
suffer more from want of water than in the hottest weather, and 
often perish in the mountains when unable to procure it for two 
or three days in the frozen creeks. Although they made every 
attempt to drink, the mules actually kneeling in their endeavours 
to reach the water, I was obliged to give it them, one after the 
other, from a small tin cup which held half a pint, and from 
which the thirsty animals greedily drank. This tedious process 
occupied me more than an hour, after which there was another 
hour's work in hunting for wood, and packing it on our backs 
into camp. Before we had a fire going it was late in the night, 
and almost midnight before we had found a little mass and 
picketed the animals ; all of which duties at last being effected, 
we cooked ourcollops of antelope-meat, smoked a pipe, and rolled 
ourselves in our blankets before the fire. All night long the 
camp was surrounded by wolves, which approached within a few 
feet of the fire, and their eyes shone like coals as they hovered 
in the bushes, attracted by the savoury smell of the roasting 
venison. 

The next day we struck La Culebra, or Snake Creek, where 
we saw that the party of Mormons had encamped, and apparently 
halted a day, for moie than ordinary pains had been taken to 
make their camp comfortable, and several piles of twigs, of the 
sage-bush and rushes, remained, of which they had made beds. 
However, we were obliged to go farther down the creek, as there 
was no firewood near the point where the trail crosses it, and 
there found a sheltered place with tolerable grass, and near an 
air-hole in the ice where the animals could chink. I remarked 
that in the vicinity of the Mormon camp no watering-place had 
been made for their animals, and, as we had seen no holes brokeix 



214 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxv 

in the ice of the creeks we had passed, I concluded that these 
people had allowed their animals to shift for themselves, the 
consequences of which negligence were soon apparent in our 
farther advance. 

The cold was so intense that I blanketed all my animals, and 
even then expected that some of the mules would have perished ; 
for it snowed heavily during the night, and the storm ended in 
a watery sleet, which froze as soon as it fell, and in the morning 
the animals were covered with a sheet of ice. We ourselves 
suffered extremely, turning constantly, and rolling almost into 
the embers of the scanty fire ; and towards daybreak I really 
thought I should have frozen bodily. My bedding consisted of 
two blankets — one of them a very thin one, which was all I had 
between my body and the snow ; and the other, first soaked with 
the sleet and afterwards frozen stiff and hard, was more like a 
board than a blanket, and was in that state no protection against 
the cold. It is well known that the coldest period of the twenty- 
four hours is that immediately preceding the dawn of day. 
At this time one is generally awakened by the sensation of 
death-like chill, which penetrates into the very bones ; and as the 
fire is by this time usually extinguished, or merely smouldering 
in the ashes, the duty of replenishing is a very, trying process. 
To creep out of the blanket and face the cutting blast requires 
no little resolution ; and, if there be more than one person in 
the camp, the horrible moment is put off by the first roused, in 
hopes that some one else will awaken and perform the duty. 
However, should the coughs and hems succeed in rousing all, 
it is ten to one but that all, with a blank look at the cheerless 
prospect, cover their heads with the blanket, and with a groan, 
cuddling into a ball, resettle themselves to sleep, leaving the 
most chilly victim to perform the office. 

The half-frozen animals, standing over their picket-pins and 
collapsed with cold, seem almost drawn within themselves, and 
occasionally approach the fire as close as their lariats will allow, 
bending down their noses to the feeble warmth, the breath in 
steaming volumes of cloud issuing: from their nostrils, whilst 
their bodies are thickly clad with a coat of frozen snow or sleet. 

Our next camp was on La Trinchera, or Bowl Creek. The 
country was barren and desolate, covered with sage, and with 



chap, xxv.] SOCIABLE WOLF. 215 

here and there a prairie with tolerable pasture. Antelope were 
abundant, and deer and turkeys were to be seen on the creeks. 
The trail passed, to the westward, a lofty peak resembling in 
outline that one known as James's or Pike's Peak, which is some 
two hundred and fifty miles to the north. The former is not 
laid down in any of the maps, although it is a well-known land- 
mark to the Indians. 

The creeks are timbered with cotton-woods, quaking-asp, 
dwarf- oak, cedar, and wild cherry, all of small growth and 
stunted, while the uplands are covered with a dwarfish growth of 
pines. From Rio Colorado we had been constantly followed by 
a large grey wolf. Every evening, as soon as we got into camp, 
he made his appearance, squatting quietly down at a little dis- 
tance, and after we had turned in for the night helping himself to 
anything lying about. Our first acquaintance commenced on 
the prairie where I had killed the two antelope, and the excellent 
dinner he then made, on the remains of the two carcases, had 
evidently attached him to our society. In the morning, as soon 
as we left the camp, he took possession, and quickly ate up the 
remnants of our supper and some little extras I always took care 
to leave for him. Shortly after he would trot after us, and, if 
we halted for a short time to adjust the mule-packs or water the 
animals, he sat down quietly until we resumed our march. But 
when I killed an antelope, and was in the act of butchering it, he 
gravely looked on, or loped round and round, licking his jaws, 
and in a state of evident self-gratulation. I had him twenty 
times a-day within reach of my rifle, but he became such an old 
friend that I never dreamed of molesting him. 

Our day's travel was usually from twenty to thirty miles, for 
the days were very short, and we were obliged to be in camp an 
hour before sunset, in order to procure wood, and water the ani- 
mals before dark. Before arriving at the creek where we pur- 
posed to camp, I rode ahead, and selected a spot where was good 
grass and convenient water. We then unpacked the mules and 
horses, and immediately watered them, after which we allowed 
them to feed at large until dark. In the mean time we hunted 
for fire- wood, having sometimes to go half a mile from camp, 
packing it on our shoulders to the spot we intended for our fire, 
the mule-packs and saddles, &c, being placed to windward of it 



216 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxv. 

as a protection from the cold blasts. We then cooked supper, 
and at dark picketed the animals round the camp, their lariats (or 
skin- ropes) being attached to pegs driven in the ground. After 
a smoke, we spread our blankets before the fire and turned in, 
rising once or twice in the night to see that all was safe, and 
remove the animals to fresh grass when they had cleared the 
circle round their pickets. Guard or watch we kept none, for 
after a long day's travel it was too much for two of us to take 
alternate sentry, thus having but half the night for sleep. 

"We were now approaching a part of the journey much dreaded 
by the Indians and New-Mexican buffalo-hunters, and which is 
quite another " Jornada del Muerto," or dead man's journey. A 
creek called Sangre Cristo — blood of Christ — winds through a 
deep canon, which opens out at one point into a small circular 
basin called El Vallecito — the little valley. It is quite em- 
bosomed in the mountains ; and down their rugged sides, and 
through the deep gorges, the wind rushes with tremendous fury, 
filling the valley with drifted snow, and depositing it in the nume- 
rous hollows with which it is intersected. This renders the pas- 
sage of the Vallecito exceedingly difficult and dangerous, as ani- 
mals are frequently buried in the snow, which is sometimes fifteen 
or twenty feet deep in the hollows, and four or five on the level. 

This valley is also called by the mountaineers the " Wind- 
trap ;" a very appropriate name, as the wind seems to be caught 
and pent up here the year round, and, mad with the confinement, 
blows round and round, seeking for an escape. 

Wishing to have my animals fresh for the passage of this 
dreaded spot, I this day made a short journey of fifteen miles, and 
camped in the canon about three miles from the mouth of the 
Wind-trap. The canon was so precipitous, that the only place I 
could find for our camp was on the side of the mountain, where 
was tolerably good gramma-grass, but a wretched place for our- 
selves ; and we had to burrow out a level spot in the snow before 
we could place the packs in a position where they would not roll 
down the hill. The cedars were few and far between, and the 
snow covered everything in the shape of wood ; and as in our 
last camp my tomahawk had been lost in the snow, I was unable 
to procure a log, and was fain to set fire to a cedar near which 
we had laid our packs. The flame, licking the stringy and dry 



chap, xxv.] EL VALLECITO. 217 

bark, quickly ran up the tree, blazed along the branches in a roar 
of fire, illuminating the rugged mountain, and throwing its light 
upon the thread of timber skirting the creek which wound along 
the bottom far beneath. 

All night long the wind roared through the canon, and at 
times swept the blankets from our chilled bodies with the force 
of a giant. The mules and horses after dark refused to feed, and, 
as there was no spot near where we could picket them, the poor 
beasts sought shelter from the cruel blasts in the belt of dwarf 
oak which fringed the creek. 

We passed a miserable night, perched upon the mountain-side 
in our lonely camp, and without a fire, for the tree was soon 
consumed. Our old friend the wolf, however, was still a com- 
panion, and sat all night within sight of the fire, howling piteously 
from cold and hunger. The next morning I allowed the animals 
a couple of hours after sunrise to feed and fill themselves ; and 
then, descending from our camp, we entered at once the pass into 
the dreaded Vallecito. A few hundred yards from the entrance 
lay a frozen mule, half-buried in the snow ; and a little farther 
on another, close to the creek where the Mormons had evidently 
encamped not two days before. 

The Vallecito was covered with snow to the depth of three 
feet, to all appearance perfectly level, but in fact full of hollows, 
with fifteen or twenty feet of snow in them. With the greatest 
difficulty and labour we succeeded in crossing, having to dis- 
mount and beat a path through the drifts with our bodies. The 
pack-mules were continually falling, and were always obliged to 
be unpacked before they could rise. As this happened every 
score yards, more than half the day was consumed in traversing 
the valley, which cannot exceed four miles in length. 

The mountain rises directly from the north end of the Vallecito, 
and is the dividing ridge between the waters of the Del Norte and 
the Arkansa or Rio Napeste of the Mexicans. The ascent to the 
summit, from the western side, is short, but very steep ; and the 
snow was of such a depth that the mules could hardly make their 
way to the top. Leading my horse by the bridle, I led the way, 
and at length, numbed with cold, I reached the summit, where is 
a level plateau of about a hundred square yards. Attaining this, 
and exposed to the full sweep of the wind, a blast struck me, 



218 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxv 

carrying with it a perfect avalanche of snow and sleet, full in my 
front, and knocked me as clean off my legs as I could have been 
floored by a twenty-four pound shot. 

The view from this point was wild and dismal in the extreme. 
Looking back, the whole country was covered with a thick carpet 
of snow, but eastward it was seen in patches only here and there. 
Before me lay the main chain of the Rocky Mountains, Pike's 
Peak lifting its snowy head far above the rest ; and to the south- 
east the Spanish Peaks (Cumbres Espafiolas) towered like twin 
giants over the plains. Beneath the mountain on which I stood 
was a narrow valley, through which ran a streamlet bordered with 
dwarf oak and pine, and looking like a thread of silver as it wound 
through the plein. Rugged peaks and ridges, snow-clad and 
covered with pine, and deep gorges filled with broken rocks, 
everywhere met the eye. To the eastward the mountains gra- 
dually smoothed away into detached spurs and broken ground, 
until they met the vast prairies, which stretched far as the eye 
could reach, and hundreds of miles beyond — a sea of seeming 
barrenness, vast and dismal. A hurricane of wind was blowing 
at the time, and clouds of dust swept along the sandy prairies, 
like the smoke of a million bonfires. On the mountain-top it 
roared and raved through the pines, filling the air with snow and 
broken branches, and piling it in huge drifts against the trees. The 
perfect solitude of this vast wildness was almost appalling. From 
my position on the summit of the dividing ridge I had a bird's- 
eye view, as it were, over the rugged and chaotic masses of the 
stupendous chain of the Rocky Mountains, and the vast deserts 
which stretched away from their eastern bases ; while, on all sides 
of me, broken ridges, and chasms and ravines, with masses of 
piled-up rocks and uprooted trees, with clouds of drifting snow 
flying through the air, and the hurricane's roar battling through 
the forest at my feet, added to the wildness of the scene, which 
was unrelieved by the slightest vestige of animal or human life. 
Not a sound, either of bird or beast, was heard — indeed, the hoarse 
and stunning rattle of the wind would have drowned them, so 
loud it roared and raved through the trees. 

The animals strove in vain to face the storm, and, turning their 
sterns to the wind, shrank into themselves, trembling with cold. 
Panchito, whom I was leading by the bridle, followed me to the 



chap, xxv.] SUFFERING FROM COLD. 219 

edge of the plateau, but drew back, trembling, from the dismal 
scene which lay stretched below. With a neigh of fear he laid 
his cold nose against my cheek, seeming to say, " Come back, 
master : what can take you to such a wretched place as that, 
where not even a blade of grass meets the eye ?" 

The descent on the eastern side is steep and sudden, and 
through a thick forest of pines, to the valley beneath. Trail 
there was none to direct us, and my half-breed knew nothing of 
the road, having passed but once before, and many years ago, 
but said it went somewhere down the pines. The evening was 
fast closing round us, and to remain where we were was certain 
death to our animals, if not to ourselves : I therefore determined 
to push for the valley, and accordingly struck at once down the 
pines. 

Once amongst the trees there was nothing to do but reach the 
bottom as fast as possible, as it was nearly dark, and nothing was 
to be seen at the distance of a dozen yards, so dense was the forest. 
Before we had proceeded as many paces from the edge of the 
plateau, and almost before I knew where I was, horses, mules, 
&c, were rolling down the mountain all together, and were at 
last brought up in a snow-drift some twelve feet deep. There 
they all lay in a heap, the half-breed under one of the pack-mules, 
and his swarthy face just peering out of the snow. Before a 
mule would stir every pack had to be removed ; and this, with a 
temperature some ten degrees below zero, was trying to the 
fingers, as may be imagined. As it was impossible to reach the 
bottom from this point, we struggled once more to the top 
through six feet of snow and an almost perpendicular ascent. I 
had to beat a road for the animals, by throwing myself bodily 
on the snow, and pounding it down with all my weight. We 
were nearly frozen by this time, and my hands were perfectly 
useless — so much so that, when a large bird of the grouse species* 
flew up into a pine above my head, I was unable to cock my rifle 
to shoot at it. The mules were plunging into the snow at every 
step, and their packs were hanging under their bellies, but to 
attempt to adjust them was out of the question. It was nearly 
dark too, which made our situation anything but pleasant, and 
the mules were quite 'exhausted. 

* Called by the hunters le coq des bois (Scotch capercailzie). 



220 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxv. 



At last, however, we reached the top and struck down the 
mountain at another point, but it was with the greatest toil and 
difficulty that we reached the bottom long after dark, and camped 
shortly after near the creek which wound through the valley, 
or rather in its very bed. One of the mules had slipped its 
pack completely under the belly, and, the girth pinching her, she 
started off just before reaching the creek at full gallop, kicking 
everything the pack contained to the four winds of heaven. 
This pack happened to contain all the provisions, and, as the 
search for them in the dark would have been useless, we this 
night had no supper. To shelter ourselves from the wind we 
camped in the bed of the creek, which was without water, but 
the wind howled down it as if it were a funnel, scattering our 
fire in every direction as soon as it was lighted, and tearing the 
blankets from our very bodies. The animals never moved from 
the spot where they had been unpacked ; even if there had been 
grass, they were too exhausted to feed, but stood shivering in 
the wind, collapsed with cold, and almost dead. Such a night I 
never passed, and hope never to pass again. The hurricane 
never lulled for a single instant ; all our efforts to build a fire 
were unavailing ; and it was with no small delight that I hailed 
the break of day, when we immediately packed the mules and 
started on our journey. 

The trail now led along the creek and through small broken 
prairies, with bluffs exhibiting a very curious formation of shale 
and sandstone. At one point the canon opens out into a pretty 
open glade or park, in the middle of which is a large rock 
resembling a ruined castle : the little prairie is covered with 
fine grass, and a large herd of black-tailed deer were feeding 
in it. A little farther on we descried the timber on the Huer- 
fano or Orphan Creek, so called from a remarkable isolated 
rock of sandstone which stands in a small prairie on its left 
bank, and is a well-known landmark to the Indians. We 
camped on the Huerfano under some high cotton-woods, the 
wind blowing with unabated violence. The next morning all 
the animals were missing, and, following their trail, we found 
them on the other side of the creek, five or six miles from the 
camp, in a little prairie full of buffalo -grass. As it was late 
in the day when we returned to camp, we did not leave till next 



chap, xxv.] THE GREENHORN— THE SAN CARLOS. 221 

morning, when we crossed on to the Cuernaverde or Greenhorn 
Creek. 

On a bluff overlooking the stream I had the satisfaction of 
seeing two or three Indian lodges and one adobe hovel of a more 
aspiring order. As we crossed the creek a mountaineer on an 
active horse galloped up to us, his rifle over the horn of the 
saddle, and clad in hunting-shirt and pantaloons of deer-skin, 
with long fringes hanging down the arms and legs. As this 
was the first soul we had seen since leaving Red River, we were 
as delighted to meet a white man (and him an American) as he 
was to learn the news from the Mexican settlements. We found 
here two or three hunters, French Canadians, with their Assin- 
naboin and Sioux squaws, who have made the Greenhorn their 
head-quarters ; and game being abundant and the rich soil of the 
valley affording them a sufficiency of Indian corn, they lead a 
tolerably easy life, and certainly a lazy one, with no cares what- 
ever to annoy them. This valley will, I have no doubt, become 
one day a thriving settlement, the soil being exceedingly rich 
and admirably adapted to the growth of all kinds of grain. The 
prairies afford abundant pasture of excellent quality, and stock 
might be raised upon them in any numbers. 

The depreciation in the value of beaver-skins has thrown the 
great body of trappers out of employment, and there is a general 
tendency amongst the mountain-men to settle in the fruitful 
valleys of the Rocky Mountains. Already the plough has 
turned up the soil within sight of Pike's Peak, and a hardy 
pioneer, an Englishman, has led the way to the Great Salt 
Lake, where a settlement of mountaineers has even now been 
formed, three thousand miles from the frontier of the United 
States. 

From the Greenhorn an easy day's travel brought us to the 
banks of the San Carlos, which, receiving the former creek, falls 
into the Arkansa about two hundred and fifty miles from its 
source. The San Carlos is well timbered with cotton-wood, 
cherry, quaking-asp, box, alder, and many varieties of shrubs, 
and many spots in the valley are admirably adapted for cultiva- 
tion, with a rich loamy soil, and so situated as to be irrigated 
with great facility from the creek. Irrigation is indispensable 
over the whole of this region, rain seldom falling in the spring 



222 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxv. 



and summer, which is one of the greatest drawbacks to the 
settlement of this country, the labour of irrigation being very- 
great. The San Carlos heads in a lofty range of mountains 
about forty miles from its junction with the Arkansa. Near its 
upper waters is a circular valley enclosed by rugged highlands, 
through which the stream forces its way in a canon whose pre- 
cipitous sides overhang it to the height of three hundred feet. 
The face of the rock (of a dark limestone) is in many places 
perfectly vertical, and rises from the water's edge to a great 
elevation, piiions and small cedars growing out of crevices in 
the sides. 

After leaving this creek we passed a barren rolling prairie 
with scanty herbage and covered with the palmilla* or soap- 
plant. A few antelope were its only tenants, and these so shy 
that I was unable to approach them. Fourteen miles from the 
San Carlos we struck the Arkansa at the little Indian trading- 
fort of the " Pueblo," which is situated on the left bank, a few- 
hundred yards above the mouth of the Fontaine-qui-bouille, or 
Boiling Spring River, so called from two springs of mineral 
water near its head-waters under Pike's Peak, about sixty miles 
from its mouth. Here I was hospitably entertained in the 
lodge of one John Hawkens, an ex-trapper and well-known 
mountaineer. I turned my animals loose, and allowed them to 
seek for themselves the best pastures, as in the vicinity of the fort 
the prairies were perfectly bare of grass, and it was only near 
the mountain that any of a good quality was to be found. 

* The Palmilla or Soap-plant is a species of cactus, the fibrous root of 
which the New Mexicans use as a substitute for soap. An abundant lather 
is obtained from it. 



chap, xxvi.] THE ARKANSA— THE PUEBLO FORT. 223 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

The Arkansa — The Pueblo Fort — Its Inhabitants — Hunting — Fontaine-qui- 
bouille — Arapahds — Cunning and Voracity of Wolves — Animals lost — A 
Snow-storm — Night in the Snow — Morning at last — Return to Arkansa 
— News from New Mexico — Fate of Two Mountain men — A daring 
Hunter — Turley's Defence — His Fate. 

The Arkansa is here a clear, rapid river about a hundred yards 
in width. The bottom, which is enclosed on each side by high 
bluffs, is about a quarter of a mile across, and timbered with a 
heavy growth of cotton- wood, some of the trees being of great 
size. On each side vast rolling prairies stretch away for hun- 
dreds of miles, gradually ascending on the side towards the 
mountains, and the highlands are there sparsely covered with 
piiion and cedar. The high banks through which the river 
occasionally passes are of shale and sandstone, and rise precipi- 
tously from the water. Ascending the river the country is wild 
and broken until it enters the mountains, when the scenery is 
grand and imposing ; but the prairies around it are arid and 
sterile, producing but little vegetation, and the grass, though of 
good quality, is thin and scarce. The Pueblo is a small square 
fort of adobe with circular bastions at the corners, no part of 
the walls being more than eight feet high, and round the inside 
of the yard or corral are built some half-dozen little rooms in- 
habited by as many Indian traders, coureurs des bois, and moun- 
tain-men. They live entirely upon game, and the greater part 
of the year without even bread, since but little maize is culti- 
vated. As soon as their supply of meat is exhausted they start 
to the mountains with two or three pack-animals, and bring 
them back in two or three days loaded with buffalo or venison. 
In the immediate vicinity of the fort game is very scarce, and 
the buffalo have within a few years deserted the neighbouring 
prairies, but they are always found in the mountain-valleys, 
particularly in one called Bayou Salado, which abounds in every 



224 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxyi. 



species of game, including elk, bears, deer, bighorn or Rocky 
Mountain sheep, buffalo, antelope, &c. 

Hunting in the mountains round the head of Fontaine-qui- 
bouille and Bayou Salado I remained for the rest of the winter, 
which was unusually severe — so much so, that the hunters were 
not unfrequently afraid to venture with their animals into the 
mountains. Shortly after my arrival on Arkansa, and during 
a spell of fine sunny weather, I started w T ith a Pueblo hunter for 
a load or two of buffalo-meat, intending to hunt on the waters of 
the Platte and the Bayou, where bulls remain in good condition 
during the winter months, feeding on the rich grass of the 
mountain-valleys. I took with me my horse and three pack- 
mules, as it was our intention to return with a good supply of 
meat. 

Our course lay up the Fontaine-qui-bouille, and on the third 
day we entered the pine-covered uplands at the foot of the 
mountain. Here we found deer so abundant that we determined 
to hunt here, rather than proceed across the ridge on to the 
waters of the Platte. We camped on a little mountain-stream 
running into the creek an hour or two before sunset, and, as we 
had no provisions, we sallied out to hunt as soon as we had un- 
packed the mules. We killed two deer almost immediately, and, 
returning to camp, made a good supper off some of the tit-bits. 

The next morning at daybreak, as soon as I had risen from 
my blanket, I saw a herd of deer feeding within a few hundred 
yards of camp, and seizing my rifle I immediately took advan- 
tage of some broken ground to approach them. Before, however, 
I could get within shot they ascended the bluffs and moved 
across a prairie, feeding as they went. I took a long circuit to 
get the wind of them, and, following a ravine, at length brought 
my rifle to bear, and knocked over a fine buck, the others running 
two or three hundred yards and then stopping to look round for 
their missing comrade. As I ran up to the dead one, and took 
out my knife to cut the throat, another deer ran past and stopped 
between me and the herd, and, taking a long shot, I dropped the 
animal, which, however, rose again and limped slowly away. 
Leaving the dead one and my ramrod on its body, I followed the 
wounded deer, and, about half a mile from where I fired, 
ound it lying dead. The process of butchering occupied about 



chap, xxvi.] ARAPAHOS. 22 o 

twenty minutes, and, packing the hams and shoulders on my 
back, I trudged back to my first victim. As I was crossing a 
ravine and ascending the opposite bluff, I saw the figure of a 
man crawling along the bottom, evidently with the intention of 
approaching me. A close inspection assured me that it was an 
Indian ; and as none but Arapahos were likely to be in the 
vicinity, and as these are the Indians most hostile to the white 
hunters, killing them whenever an opportunity offers, I made 
up my mind that a war-party was about, and that myself and 
companion stood a very good chance of " losing our hair." As 
the Indian cautiously advanced, I perceived another was running 
round the prairie to cut me off from camp, and consequently I 
determined to make good my ground where I was, throwing 
down the meat and getting my rifle in readiness for work. 

The only tribes of Indians who frequent this part of the 
mountains are the Yutas (or Eutaws) and the Arapahos, who 
are hereditary enemies, and constantly at deadly war with each 
other. A large band of the Yutas had been wintering in the 
Bayou Salado, to which one trail leads by the Boiling Spring 
River (where I was hunting), and another by the Arkansa. The 
former is the trail followed by the Arapaho war- par ties when on 
an expedition against the Yutas in the Bayou, and therefore I 
felt certain that none but the former Indians would be met with 
in this vicinity. However, as the Yutas are a very friendly 
tribe, I was loth to be the first to commence hostilities in case 
my antagonist might prove to belong to that nation, and therefore 
I awaited his approach, which he made stealthily, until he saw 
that I had discovered him, when, throwing himself erect, and 
gun in hand, he made directly towards me. With rifle cocked I 
watched his eye until he came within fifty yards, when suddenly, 
seeing my hostile appearance, he stopped, and, striking his hand 
thrice on his brawny chest, exclaimed, in a loud voice — 

" Arapaho, Arapaho !" and stood erect and still. This an- 
nouncement was very nearly being fatal to him, for, on hearing 
him proclaim himself one of that hostile nation, my rifle was 
up to my shoulder in an instant, and covering his heart. As 
my ringer was on the trigger, it flashed across my mind that I 
had heard that two Arapahos were amongst the hunters on the 
Arkansa, their sister being married to a mountaineer, and that 



226 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxvi. 

probably the dusky gentleman at the end of my rifle was one of 
these, as indeed he proved to be. I accordingly made signals of 
peace, and he approached and shook me by the hand. That 
his intentions were not altogether honest I have no doubt, but, 
. finding me prepared, he thought it more advisable to remain 
u en paz." What strengthened me in this belief was the fact, 
which I shortly after discovered, that a war- party of his nation 
were at that moment camped within a few hundred yards of us, 
whose vicinity he never apprized me of, and who, if they had 
seen us, would not have hesitated an instant to secure our scalps 
and animals. 

When I returned to the spot where I had left the first deer, 
not a particle was visible except some hair scattered on the 
ground, but a few hundred yards from the spot a dozen wolves 
were engaged in dining off a lump of something, which, on 
approach, I found to be the remains of my deer, leaving behind 
them, when dispersed, a handful of hair. 

The sagacity of wolves is almost incredible. They will re- 
main round a hunting-camp and follow the hunters the whole 
day, in bands of three and four, at less than a hundred yards' 
distance, stopping when they stop, and sitting down quietly 
when game is killed, rushing to devour the offal when the hunter 
retires, and then following until another feed is offered them. 
If a deer or antelope is wounded, they immediately pursue it, 
and not unfrequently pull the animal down in time for the hunter 
to come up and secure it from their ravenous clutches. How- 
ever, they appear to know at once the nature of the wound, for 
if but slightly touched they never exert themselves to follow a 
deer, chasing those only which have received a mortal blow. 

I one day killed an old buck which was so poor that I left the 
carcase on the ground untouched. Six coyotes, or small prairie 
wolves, were my attendants that day, and of course, before I 
had left the deer twenty paces, had commenced their work of 
destruction. Certainly not ten minutes after I looked back and 
saw the same six loping after me, one of them not twenty yards 
behind me, with his nose and face all besmeared with blood, 
and his belly swelled almost to bursting. Thinking it scarcely 
possible that they could have devoured the whole deer in so 
short a space, I had the curiosity to return, and, to my astonish- 



chap, xxvi.] WOLVES— ANIMALS LOST. 227 

inent, found actually nothing left but a pile of bones and hair, 
the flesh being stripped from them as clean as if scraped with a 
knife. Half an hour after I killed a large black-tail deer, and, 
as it was also in miserable condition, 1 took merely the fleeces 
(as the meat on the back and ribs is called), leaving four-fifths 
of the animal untouched. I then retired a short distance, and, 
sitting down on a rock, lighted my pipe, and watched the opera- 
tions of the wolves. They sat perfectly still until I had with- 
drawn some threescore yards, when they scampered, with a 
flourish of their tails, straight to the deer. Then commenced such a 
tugging and snarling and biting, all squeaking and swallowing 
at the same moment. A skirmish of tails and flying hair was 
seen for five minutes, when the last of them, with slouching tail 
and evidently ashamed of himself, withdrew, and nothing remained 
on the ground but a well-picked skeleton. By sunset, when I re- 
turned to camp, they had swallowed as much as three entire deer. 

We remained hunting in the mountains some days, and left 
the Boiling Spring River with our mules loaded with meat, 
having, almost by a miracle, been unmolested by the Arapaho 
war-party, some of whom I saw hunting nearly every day, with- 
out being myself discovered. Nothing occurred on our return 
until the night of the second day, when we camped on the creek 
in a spot destitute of grass, and our animals took themselves 
off in search of food during the night, where we knew not. 

The next morning my companion, thinking to find them close 
at hand, left me in camp cooking the breakfast while he went 
to bring in the animals, but presently returned, saying that he 
could find neither them nor their track, but had discovered fresh 
Indian sign in the bottom, where several Indians had been but a 
few hours before, and that, doubtless, they had made " a raise" 
I instantly seized my rifle, and, taking a circuit round the camp, 
came presently upon the track of horses and mules, and struck 
at once after them, thinking that, of course, they were those 
made by our animals, as they tallied with the number, being 
two horses and three mules. I had followed up the track for 
ten miles, when, in crossing a piece of hard prairie which 
scarcely yielded to the impression of the hoofs, I, for the first 
time, observed that not one of the animals I was following was 
shod, and, knowing that most of my own were so, I began to 

Q2 



228 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxvi. 



think, and soon satisfied myself of the fact, that they were not 
those I was in search of. As soon as I had made up my mind 
to this I retraced my steps to camp, and immediately started 
again with my companion in another direction. This time we 
came upon the right track, and found that it took an easterly 
direction, and that the animals were not in the possession of the 
Indians, as their ropes still dragged along the ground, making 
a broad trail. Finding this, we returned to camp and " cached" 
our meat and packs in the forks of a cotton-wood tree, out of 
reach of wolves ; and without thinking of cooking anything, so 
anxious were Ave to find our animals, we started off at once in 
pursuit, carrying a lariat and saddle-blanket to ride back on in 
case we found the mules. We followed the trail until midnight, 
by which time I felt not a little tired, as I had been on my legs 
since daybreak, and had not broken my fast since the preceding 
day. We therefore turned into the bottom, floundering through 
the bushes, and impaling ourselves at every step on the prickly 
pears which covered the ground, and made a fire near the stream, 
in a thicket which in some degree sheltered us from the cold. 
We had scarcely however lighted the fire when a gale of wind 
burst upon us, and, scattering the burning brands in every direc- 
tion, quickly set fire to the dry grass and bushes to leeward of 
the fire. All our efforts to prevent this were unavailing, and 
we were necessitated to put out our fire to prevent the whole 
bottom from being burned. As the cold was intense, and I had 
no covering but a paltry saddle-blanket about four feet square, 
sleep was out of the question if I wished to keep unfrozen, so 
that, after an hour or two's rest and a good smoke, we again 
turned out, and by the light of the moon pursued the trail. As 
it passed over prairies entirely destitute of grass, the animals had 
never once stopped, but continued a straight course, without 
turning to the right or left, in search of pasture. We travelled 
on all night, and, halting for an hour's rest in the morning, 
about noon, looking ahead, I descried four objects feeding in 
the plain. I called out to my companion, who was a little in 
rear, that there they were. 

" Elk," he answered, after a long look, " or Injuns. They 're 
no mules, I '11 lay a dollar : Arapahos, or I never see a redskin." 

However, at that distance I recognised my mules, and, pushing 



ciiap. xxvi.J SNOW-STORM. 229 

on, I found them quietly feeding with Panchito, my companion's 
horse being alone missingj and they suffered me to catch them 
without difficulty. As we were now within twenty miles of the 
fort, Morgan, who had had enough of it, determined to return, 
and I agreed to go back with the animals to the cache, and 
bring in the meat and packs. I accordingly tied the blanket on 
a mule's back, and, leading the horse, trotted back at once to the 
grove of cotton-woods where we had before encamped. The 
sky had been gradually overcast with leaden-coloured clouds, 
until, when near sunset, it was one huge inky mass of rolling 
darkness : the wind had suddenly lulled, and an unnatural calm, 
which so surely heralds a storm in these tempestuous regions, 
succeeded. The ravens w T ere winging their way towards the 
shelter of the timber, and the coyote was seen trotting quickly 
to cover, conscious of the coming storm. 

The black threatening clouds seemed gradually to descend 
until they kissed the earth, and already the distant mountains 
were hidden to their very bases. A hollow murmuring swept 
through the bottom, but as yet not a branch was stirred by 
wind ; and the huge cotton-woods, with their leafless limbs, 
loomed like a line of ghosts through the heavy gloom. Knowing 
but too well what was coming, I turned my animals towards the 
timber, which was about two miles distant. With pointed ears, 
and actually trembling with fright, they were as eager as myself 
to reach the shelter ; but, before we had proceeded a third of the 
distance, with a deafening roar the tempest broke upon us. The 
clouds opened and drove right in our faces a storm of freezing 
sleet, which froze upon us as it fell. The first squall of wind 
carried away my cap> and the enormous hailstones, beating on 
my unprotected head and face, almost stunned me. In an instant 
my hunting-shirt was soaked, and as instantly frozen hard ; 
and my horse was a mass of icicles. Jumping off my mule 
— for to ride was impossible — I tore off the saddle-blanket and 
covered my head. The animals, blinded with the sleety and their 
eyes actually coated with ice, turned their sterns to the storm, 
and, blown before it, made for the open prairie. All my exer- 
tions to drive them to the shelter of the timber were useless. It 
was impossible to face the hurricane, which now brought with it 
clouds of driving snow ; and perfect darkness soon set in. Still 



230 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxvi. 

the animals kept on, and I determined not to leave them, follow- 
ing, or rather being blown, after them. My blanket, frozen stiff 
like a board, required all the strength of my numbed fingers to 
prevent it being blown away, and, although it was no protection 
against the intense cold, I knew it would in some degree shelter 
me at night from the snow. In half an hour the ground was 
covered on the bare prairie to the depth of two feet, and through 
this I floundered for a long time before the animals stopped. 
The prairie was as bare as a lake ; but one little tuft of grease- 
wood bushes presented itself, and here, turning from the storm, 
they suddenly stopped and remained perfectly still. In vain I 
again attempted to turn them towards the direction of the timber ; 
huddled together, they would not move an inch ; and, exhausted 
myself, and seeing nothing before me but, as I thought, certain 
death, I sank down immediately behind them, and, covering my 
head with the blanket, crouched like a ball in the snow. I would 
have started myself for the timber, but it was pitchy dark, the 
wind drove clouds of frozen snow into my face, and the animals 
had so turned about in the prairie that it was impossible to know 
the direction to take ; and although I had a compass with me, 
my hands were so frozen that I was perfectly unable, after re- 
peated attempts, to unscrew the box and consult it. Even had I 
reached the timber, my situation would have been scarcely im- 
proved, for the trees were scattered wide about over a narrow 
space, and, consequently, afforded but little shelter ; and if even 
I had succeeded in getting firewood-^-by no means an easy matter 
at any time, and still more difficult now that the ground was 
covered with three feet of snow — I was utterly unable to use my 
flint and steel to procure a light, since my fingers were like pieces 
of stone, and entirely without feeling. 

The way the wind roared over the prairie that night — how the 
snow drove before it, covering me and the poor animals partly — 
and how I lay there, feeling the very blood freezing in my veins, 
and my bones petrifying with the icy blasts which seemed to 
penetrate them — how for hours I remained with my head on my 
knees, and the snow pressing it down like a weight of lead, 
expecting every instant to drop into a sleep from which I knew 
it was impossible I should ever awake — how every now and then 
the mules would groan aloud and fall down upon the snow, and 



p. xxvi.] NIGHT IN THE SNOW. 2,31 

then again struggle on their legs — how all night long the piercing 
howl of wolves was borne upon the wind, which never for an 
instant abated its violence during the night, — I would not attempt 
to describe. I have passed many nights alone in the wilderness, 
and in a solitary camp have listened to the roarings of the wind 
and the howling of wolves, and felt the rain or snow beating 
upon me, with perfect unconcern : but this night threw all my 
former experiences into the shade, and is marked with the blackest 
of stones in the memoranda of my journeyings. 

Once, late in the night, by keeping my hands buried in the 
breast of my hunting-shirt, I succeeded in restoring sufficient 
feeling into them to enable me to strike a light. Luckily my 
pipe, which was made out of a huge piece of cotton-wood bark, 
and capable of containing at least twelve ordinary pipefuls, Avas 
filled with tobacco to the brim ; and this I do believe kept me 
alive during the night, for I smoked and smoked until the pipe 
itself caught fire, and burned completely to the stem. 

I was just sinking into a dreamy stupor, when the mules began 
to shake themselves, and sneeze and snort ; which hailing as a 
good sign, and that they were still alive, I attempted to lift my 
head and take a view of the weather. When with great difficulty 
I raised my head, all appeared dark as pitch, and it did not at 
first occur to me that I was buried deep in snow ; but when I 
thrust my arm above me, a hole was thus made, through which 
I saw the stars shining in the sky and the clouds fast clearing 
away. Making a sudden attempt to straighten my almost petri- 
fied back and limbs, I rose, but, unable to stand, fell forward 
in the snow, frightening the animals, which immediately started 
away. When I gained my legs I found that day was just break- 
ing, a long grey line of light appearing over the belt of timber 
on the creek, and the clouds gradually rising from the east, and 
allowing the stars to peep from patches of blue sky. Following 
the animals as soon as I gained the use of my limbs, and taking 
a last look at the perfect cave from which I had just risen, 
I found them in the timber, and, singular enough, under the 
very tree where we had cached our meat. However, I was 
unable to ascend the tree in my present state, and my frost-bitten 
fingers refused to perform their offices ; so that I jumped upon 
my horse, and, followed by the mules, galloped back to the 



232 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxvi. 

Arkansa, which I reached in the evening, half dead with hunger 
and cold. 

The hunters had given me up for lost, as such a night even 
the "oldest inhabitant" had never witnessed. My late com- 
panion had reached the Arkansa, and was safely housed before it 
broke, blessing his lucky stars that he had not gone back with 
me. The next morning he returned and brought in the meat ; 
while I spent two days in nursing my frozen fingers and feet, 
and making up, in feasting mountain fashion, for the banyans 
I had suffered. 

The morning after my arrival on Arkansa, two men, named 
Harwood and Markhead — the latter one of the most daring and 
successful trappers that ever followed this adventurous mountain- 
life, and whom I had intended to have hired as a guide to the 
valley of the Columbia the ensuing spring — started off to the 
settlement of New Mexico, with some packs of peltries, intending 
to bring back Taos whisky (a very profitable article of trade 
amongst the mountain-men) and some bags of flour and Indian 
meal. 

I found on returning from my hunt that a man named John 
Albert had brought intelligence that the New Mexicans and 
Pueblo Indians had risen in the valley of Taos, and, as I have 
before mentioned, massacred Governor Bent and other Ameri- 
cans, and had also attacked and destroyed Turley's ranch on the 
Arroyo Hondo, killing himself and most of his men. Albert 
had escaped from the house, and, charging through the assailants, 
made for the mountains, and, travelling night and day and with- 
out food, had reached the Greenhorn with the news, and after 
recruiting for a couple of days had come on to the Arkansa 
with the intelligence, which threw the fierce mountaineers into a 
perfect frenzy. As Markhead and Harwood would have arrived 
in the settlements about the time of the rising, little doubt 
remained as to their fate, but it was not until nearly two months 
after that any intelligence was brought concerning them. It 
seemed that they arrived at the Rio Colorado, the first New 
Mexican settlement, on the seventh or eighth day, when the 
people had just received news of the massacre in Taos. These 
savages, after stripping them of their goods, and securing, by 
treachery, their arms, made them mount their mules under the 



chap. xxvi.J FATE OF TWO MOUNTAIN-MEN. 233 

pretence of conducting them to Taos, there to be given up to 
the chief of the insurrection. They had hardly, however, left 
the village when a Mexican, riding behind Harwood, discharged 
his gun into his back : Harwood, calling to Markhead that he 
was " finished," fell dead to the ground. Markhead, seeing that 
his own fate was sealed, made no struggle, and was likewise shot 
in the back by several balls. They were then stripped and 
scalped and shockingly mutilated, and their bodies thrown into 
the bush by the side of the creek to be devoured by the wolves. 
They were both remarkably fine young men. Markhead was 
celebrated in the mountains for his courage and reckless daring, 
having had many almost miraculous escapes when in the very 
hands of hostile Indians. He had a few years ago accompanied 
Sir W. Drummond Stewart in one of his expeditions across the 
mountains. It happened that a half-breed of the company ab- 
sconded one night with some animals belonging to Sir William, 
who, being annoyed at the circumstance^ said hastily, and never 
dreaming that his offer would be taken up, that he would give 
five hundred dollars for the scalp of the thief. The next day 
Markhead rode into camp with the scalp of the unfortunate 
horse-thief hanging at the end of his riflej and I believe received 
the reward, at least so he himself declared to me, for this act of 
mountain law. On one occasion, whilst trapping on the waters 
of the Yellow Stone, in the midst of the Blackfoot country, he 
came suddenly upon two or three lodges, from which the Indians 
happened to be absent. There was no doubt, from signs which 
he had previously discovered, that they were lying in wait for 
him somewhere on the stream to attack him when examining his 
traps, the Blackfeet, moreover, being most bitterly hostile to the 
white trappers, and killing them without mercy whenever an 
occasion offered. Notwithstanding the almost certainty that 
some of the Indians were close at hand, probably gone out for a 
supply of wood and would very soon return, Markhead resolved 
to visit the lodges and help himself to anything worth taking 
that he might find there. The fire was burning, and meat was 
actually cooking in a pot over it. To this he did ample justice, 
emptying the pot in a very satisfactory manner, after which he 
tied all the blankets, dressed skins, mocassins, &c, into a bundle, 
and, mounting his horse, got safely off with his prize. 



23-1 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxvi 



It was not always, however, that he escaped scathless, for his 
body was riddled with balls received in many a bloody affray 
with Blackfeet and other Indians. 

Laforey, the old Canadian trapper, with whom I stayed at 
Red River, was accused of having possessed himself of the pro- 
perty found on the two mountaineers, and afterwards of having 
instigated the Mexicans to the barbarous murder. The hunters 
on Arkansa vowed vengeance against him, and swore to have 
his hair some day, as well as similar love-locks from the people 
of Red River. A war-expedition was also talked of to that 
settlement, to avenge the murder of their comrades, and ease 
the Mexicans of their mules and horses. 

The massacre of Turley and his people, and the destruction 
of his mill, were not consummated without considerable loss to 
the barbarous and cowardly assailants. There were in the house, 
at the time of the attack, eight white men, including Americans, 
French Canadians, and one or two Englishmen, with plenty 
of arms and ammunition. Turley had been warned of the in- 
tended insurrection, but had treated the report with indifference 
and neglect, until one morning a man named Otterbees, in the 
employ of Turley, and who had been despatched to Santa Fe 
with several mule -loads of whisky a few days before, made 
his appearance at the gate on horseback, and, hastily informing 
the inmates of the mill that the New Mexicans had risen and 
massacred Governor Bent and other Americans, galloped off. 
Even then Turley felt assured that he would not be molested, 
but, at the solicitations of his men, agreed to close the gate of 
the yard round which were the buildings of a mill and distillery, 
and make preparations for defence. 

A few hours after a large crowd of Mexicans and Pueblo 
Indians made their appearance, all armed with guns and bows 
and arrows, and, advancing with a white flag, summoned Turley 
to surrender his house and the Americans in it, guaranteeing 
that his own life should be saved, but that every other American 
in the valley of Taos had to be destroyed ; that the Governor 
and all the Americans at Fernandez and the rancho had been 
killed, and that not one was to be left alive in all New 
Mexico. 

To this summons Turley answered that he would never sur- 



chap, xxvi.] ATTACK ON TURLEY'S. 235 

render his house nor his men, and that, if they wanted it or 
them, " they must take them." 

The enemy then drew off, and, after a short consultation, 
commenced the attack. The first day they numbered about five 
hundred, but the crowd was hourly augmented by the arrival of 
parties of Indians from the more distant pueblos, and of New 
Mexicans from Fernandez, La Canada, and other places. 

The building lay at the foot of a gradual slope in the sierra, 
which was covered with cedar-bushes. In front ran the stream 
of the Arroyo Hondo, about twenty yards from one side of the 
square, and on the other side was broken ground, which rose 
abruptly and formed the bank of the ravine. In rear, and be- 
hind the still-house, was some garden-ground enclosed by a small 
fence, and into which a small wicket-gate opened from the 
corral. 

As soon as the attack was determined upon, the assailants 
broke, and, scattering, concealed themselves under the cover of 
the rocks and bushes which surrounded the house. 

From these they kept up an incessant fire upon every exposed 
portion of the building where they saw the Americans prepar- 
ing for defence. 

They, on their parts, were not idle ; not a man but was an old 
mountaineer, and each had his trusty rifle, with good store of 
ammunition. Wherever one of the assailants exposed a handV 
breadth of his person, there whistled a ball from an unerring 
barrel. The windows had been blockaded, loop-holes being left 
to fire through, and through these a lively fire was maintained. 
Already several of the enemy had bitten the dust, and parties 
were constantly seen bearing off the wounded up the banks of 
the Canada. Darkness came on, and during the night a con- 
tinual fire was kept up on the mill, whilst its defenders, reserving 
their ammunition, kept their posts with stern and silent deter- 
mination. The night was spent in running balls, cutting patches, 
and completing the defences of the building. In the morning 
the fight was renewed, and it was found that the Mexicans had 
effected a lodgment in a part of the stables, which were 
separated from the other portions of the building, and between 
which was an open space of a few feet. The assailants, during 



236 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxvi. 

the night, had sought to break down the wall, and thus enter the 
main building, but the strength of the adobes and logs of which 
it was composed resisted effectually all their attempts. 

Those in the stable seemed anxious to regain the outside, for 
their position was unavailable as a means of annoyance to the 
besieged, and several had darted across the narrow space which 
divided it from the other part of the building, and which slightly 
projected, and behind which they were out of the line of fire. 
As soon$ however, as the attention of the defenders was called 
to this point, the first man who attempted to cross, and who 
happened to be a Pueblo chief, was dropped on the instant, and 
fell dead in the centre of the intervening space. It appeared an 
object to recover the body, for an Indian immediately dashed 
out to the fallen chief, and attempted to drag him within the 
cover of the wall. The rifle which covered the spot again 
poured forth its deadly contents, and the Indian springing into 
the air, fell over the body of his chief, struck to the heart. 
Another and another met with a similar fate, and at last three 
rushed at once to the spot, and, seizing the body by the legs and 
head, had already lifted it from the ground, when three puffs 
of smoke blew from the barricaded window, followed by the 
sharp cracks of as many rifles, and the three daring Indians 
added their number to the pile of corses which now covered the 
body of the dead chief. 

As yet the besieged had met with no casualties ; but after the 
fall of the seven Indians, in the manner above described, the 
whole body of assailants, with a shout of rage, poured in a 
rattling volley, and two of the defenders of the mill fell mortally 
wounded. One^ shot through the loins, suffered great agony, 
and was removed to the still-house, where he was laid upon a 
large pile of grain, as being the softest bed to be found. 

In the middle of the day the assailants renewed the attack 
more fiercely than before, their baffled attempts adding to their 
furious rage. The little garrison bravely stood to the defence 
of the mill, never throwing away a shot, but firing coolly, and 
only when a fair mark was presented to their unerring aim. 
Their ammunition, however, was fast failing, and, to add to the 
danger of their situation, the enemy set fire to the mill, which 



chap, xxvi.] TURLEY'S FATE. 237 

blazed fiercely, and threatened destruction to the whole building, 
Twice they succeeded in overcoming the flames, and, taking 
advantage of their being thus occupied, the Mexicans and Indians 
charged into the corral, which was full of hogs and sheep, and 
vented their cowardly rage upon the animals, spearing and shoot- 
ing all that came in their way. No sooner, however, were the 
flames extinguished in one place, than they broke out more 
fiercely in another ; and as a successful defence was perfectly 
hopeless, and the numbers of the assailants increased every 
moment, a council of war was held by the survivors of the little 
garrison, when it was determined, as soon as night approached, 
that every one should attempt to escape as best he might, 
and in the mean time the defence of the mill was to be con- 
tinued. 

Just at dusk, Albert and another man ran to the wicket-gate 
which opened into a kind of enclosed space, and in which was a 
number of armed Mexicans. They both rushed out at the same 
moment, discharging their rifles full in the faces of the crowd. 
Albert, in the confusion, threw himself under the fence, whence 
he saw his companion shot down immediately, and heard his 
cries for mercy, mingled with shrieks of pain and anguish, 
as the cowards pierced him with knives and lances. Lying 
without motion under the fence, as soon as it was quite dark he 
crept over the logs and ran up the mountain, travelled day and 
night, and, scarcely stopping or resting, reached the Gretnhorn> 
almost dead with hunger and fatigue. Turley himself succeeded 
in escaping from the mill and in reaching the mountain unseen. 
Here he met a Mexican, mounted on a horse, who had been 
a most intimate friend of the unfortunate man for many years. 
To this man Turley offered his watch (which was treble its 
worth) for the use of his horse, but was refused. The inhuman 
wretch, however, affected pity and commiseration for the fugitive, 
and advised him to go to a certain place, where he would bring 
or send him assistance ; but on reaching the mill, which was 
now a mass of fire, he immediately informed the Mexicans of his 
place of concealment, whither a large party instantly proceeded 
and shot him to death. 

Two others escaped and reached Santa Fe in safety. The mill 



238 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxvi. 

and Turley's house were sacked and gutted, and all his hard-earned 
savings, which were considerable, and concealed in gold about 
the house, were discovered, and of course seized upon, by the 
victorious Mexicans. 

The Indians, however, met a few days after with a severe retri- 
bution. The troops marched out of Santa Fe, attacked their 
pueblo, and levelled it to the ground, killing many hundreds of 
its defenders, and taking many prisoners, most of whom were 
hanged. 



chai\ xxvii.] BEAVER— ITS HABITS. 239 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

Beaver — Its Habits — Trappers — Dangers of Trapping — The Rendezvous — 
Gambling — War Party of Arapahos — Dangerous Neighbours — Mocassins 
— My Animals — Pasture — Breaking of Ice on the Arkansa — Fish — 
Boiling Spring River — Indians about — The Boiling Fountain — Soda- 
water — Delicious Draught. 

Beaver has so depreciated in value within the last few years, 
that trapping has been almost abandoned ; the price paid for the 
skin of this valuable animal having fallen from six and eight 
dollars per pound to one dollar, which hardly pays the expenses 
of traps, animals, and equipment for the hunt, and is certainly 
no adequate remuneration for the incredible hardships, toil, and 
danger, which are undergone by the hardy trappers in the course 
of their adventurous expeditions. The cause of the great decrease 
in value of beaver-fur is the substitute which has been found for 
it in the skins of the fur-seal and nutria — the improved prepara- 
tion of other skins of little value, such as the hare and rabbit — 
and, more than all, in the use of silk in the manufacture of hats* 
which has in a great measure superseded that of beaver. Thus 
the curse of the trapper is levelled against all the new-fashioned 
materials of Paris hats; and the light and (h)airy gossamer of 
twelve-and-six is anathematized in the mountains in a way which 
would be highly distressing to the feelings of Messrs. Jupp and 
Johnson, and other artists in the ventilating-gossamer line. 

Thanks to the innovation, however, a little breathing-time has 
been allowed the persecuted castor ; and this valuable fur-bearing 
animal, which otherwise would, in the course of a few years, have 
become extinct, has now a chance of multiplying, and will in a 
short time again become abundant ; for, alt hough not a very prolific 
animal, the beaver has perhaps fewer natural enemies than any 
other of the ferce naturce, and, being at the same time a wise and 
careful one, provides against all contingencies of cold and 



240 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxvtt. 

hunger, which in northern climates carry off so large a propor- 
tion of their brother beasts. 

The beaver was once found in every part of North America 
from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, but has now gradually 
retired from the encroachments and the persecutions of civilized 
man, and is met with only in the far, far west, on the tributaries of 
the great rivers, and the streams which water the mountain- val- 
leys in the great chain of the Rocky Mountains. On the waters 
of the Platte and Arkansa they are still numerous, and within 
the last two years have increased considerably in numbers ; but 
the best trapping-ground now is on the streams running through 
the Bayou Salado, and the Old and New Parks, all of which are 
elevated mountain-valleys. 

The habits of the beaver present quite a study to the naturalist, 
and they are certainly the most sagaciously instinctive of all 
quadrupeds. Their dams afford a lesson to the engineer, their 
houses a study to the architect of comfortable abodes, while their 
unremitting labour and indefatigable industry are models to be 
followed by the working-man. The lodge of the beaver is 
generally excavated in the bank of the stream, the entrance 
being invariably under water ; but not unfrequently, where the 
banks are flat, they construct lodges in the stream itself, of a 
conical form, of limbs and branches of trees woven together 
and cemented with mud. For the purpose of forming dams, 
for the necessary timber for their lodges, or for the bark which 
they store for their winter's supply of food, the beaver often fells 
a tree eight or ten inches in diameter, throwing it, with the skill 
of an expert woodsman, in any direction he pleases, always 
selecting a tree above stream, in order that the logs may be 
carried down with it to their destination. The log is then 
chopped into small lengths, and, pushing them into the water, 
the beaver steers them to the lodge or dam. These trees are as 
cleanly cut as they could be by a sharp axe, the gouging furrows 
made by the animal's strong teeth cutting into the very centre of 
the trunk, the notch being smooth as sawed wood. 

With his broad tail, which is twelve or fourteen inches long, 
and about four in breadth, and covered with a thick scaly skin, 
the beaver plasters his lodge, thus making it perform all the offices 
of a hand. They say that, when the beaver's tail becomes dry, 



chap, xxvii.] TRAPPEES. 241 

the animal dies, but, whether this is the case or not, I have myself 
seen the beaver when at work return to the water and plunge 
his tail into the stream, and then resume his labour with 
renewed vigour ; and I have also seen them, with their bodies on 
the bank, thumping the water with their tails with a most comi- 
cal perseverance. 

The female seldom produces more than three kittens at a birth, 
but I know an instance where one was killed with young, 
having no less than eleven in her. They live to a considerable 
age, and I once ate the tail of an old " man" beaver whose head 
was perfectly grey with age, and his beard was of the same vener- 
able hue, notwithstanding which his tail was tender as a young 
racoon. The kittens are as playful as their namesakes of the 
feline race, and it is highly amusing to see an old one with 
grotesque gravity inciting her young to gambol about her, 
whilst she herself is engaged about some household work. 

The nutrias of Mexico are identical with the beavers of the 
more northern parts of America ; but in South America, and on 
some parts of the western coast of North America, a species of 
seal, or, as I have heard it described, a hybrid between the seal 
and the beaver, is called nutria — quite a distinct animal, how- 
ever, from the Mexican nutria. 

The trappers of the Rocky Mountains belong to a " genus p 
more approximating to the primitive savage than perhaps any- 
other class of civilized man. Their lives being spent in the 
remote wilderness of the mountains, with no other companion 
than Nature herself, their habits and character assume a most 
singular cast of simplicity mingled with ferocity, appearing to 
take their colouring from the scenes and objects which sur- 
round them. Knowing no wants save those of nature, their sole 
care is to procure sufficient food to support life, and the neces- 
sary clothing to protect them from the rigorous climate. This, 
with the assistance of their trusty rifles, they are generally able to 
effect, but sometimes at the expense of great peril and hardship. 
When engaged in their avocation, the natural instinct of primi- 
tive man is ever alive, for the purpose of guarding against danger 
and the provision of necessary food. 

Keen observers of nature, they rival the beasts of prey in dis- 
covering the haunts and habits of game, and in their skill and 



242 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxvii. 



cunning in capturing it. Constantly exposed to perils of all kinds, 
they become callous to any feeling of danger, and destroy human 
as well as animal life with as little scruple and as freely as they 
expose their own. Of laws, human or divine, they neither know 
nor care to know. Their wish is their law, and to attain it they 
do not scruple as to ways and means Firm friends and bitter 
enemies, with them it is "a word and a blow,'* and the blow often 
first. They may have good qualities, but they are those of the 
animal ; and people fond of giving hard names call them revenge- 
ful, bloodthirsty, drunkards (when the wherewithal is to be had), 
gamblers, regardless of the laws of meum and tuum — in fact, 
" White Indians." However, there are exceptions, and I have 
met honest mountain-men. Their animal qualities, however, are 
undeniable. Strong, active, hardy as bears, daring, expert in the 
use of their weapons, they are just what uncivilised white man 
might be supposed to be in a brute state, depending upon his 
instinct for the support of life. Not a hole or corner in the vast 
wilderness of the " Far West " but has been ransacked by these 
hardy men. From the Mississippi to the mouth of the Colorado 
of the West, from the frozen regions of the North to the Gila in 
Mexico, the beaver-hunter has set his traps in every creek and 
stream. All this vast country, but for the daring enterprise of 
these men, would be even now a terra incognita to geographers, 
as indeed a great portion still is ; but there is not an acre that 
has not been passed and repassed by the trappers in their perilous 
excursions. The mountains and streams still retain the names 
assigned to them by the rude hunters ; and these alone are the 
hardy pioneers who have paved the way for the settlement of the 
western country. 

Trappers are of two kinds, the " hired hand " and the " free 
trapper :" the former hired for the hunt by the fur companies ; 
the latter, supplied with animals and traps by the company, is 
paid a certain price for his furs and peltries. 

There is also the trapper " on his own hook ;" but this class is 
very small. He has his own animals and traps, hunts where he 
chooses, and sells his peltries to whom he pleases. 

On starting for a hunt, the trapper fits himself out with the 
necessary equipment, either from the Indian trading-forts, or from 
some of the petty traders — coureurs des bois — who frequent the 



chap, xxvn.] EQUIPMENT OF A TRAPPER. 243 



western country. This equipment consists usually of two or 
three horses or mules — one for saddle, the others for packs — and 
six traps, which are carried in a bag of leather called a trap-sack. 
Ammunition, a few pounds of tobacco, dressed deer-skins for 
mocassins, &c, are carried in a wallet of dressed buffalo-skin, 
called a possible-sack. His " possibles " and " trap-sack " are 
generally carried on the saddle-mule when hunting-, the others 
being packed with the furs. The costume of the trapper is a 
hunting-shirt of dressed buckskin, ornamented with long fringes ; 
pantaloons of the same material, and decorated with porcupine- 
quills and long fringes down the outside of the leg. A flexible 
felt hat and mocassins clothe his extremities. Over his left 
shoulder and under his right arm hang his powder-horn and 
bullet-pouch, in which he carries his balls, flint and steel, and 
odds and ends of all kinds. Round the waist is a belt, in which 
is stuck a large butcher-knife in a sheath of buffalo-hide, made 
fast to the belt by a chain or guard of steel ; which also supports 
a little buckskin case containing a whetstone. A tomahawk is 
also often added ; and, of course, a long heavy rifle is part and 
parcel of his equipment. I had nearly forgotten the pipe-holder, 
which hangs round his neck, and is generally a gage d'amour, 
and a triumph of squaw workmanship, in shape of a heart, gar- 
nished with beads and porcupine-quills. 

Thus provided, and having determined the locality of his 
trapping-ground, he starts to the mountains, sometimes alone, 
sometimes with three or four in company, as soon as the breaking 
up of the ice allows him to commence operations. Arrived on 
his hunting-grounds, he follows the creeks and streams, keeping 
a sharp look-out for " sign." If he sees a prostrate cotton-wood 
tree, he examines it to discover if it be the work of beaver — 
whether " thrown " for the purpose of food, or to dam the stream. 
The track of the beaver on the mud or sand under the bank is 
also examined ; and if the " sign " be fresh, he sets his trap in 
the run of the animal, hiding it under water, and attaching it by 
a stout chain to a picket driven in the bank, or to a bush or tree. 
A " float- stick" is made fast to the trap by a cord a few feet long, 
which, if the animal carry away the trap, floats on the water 
and points out its position. The trap is baited with the " medi- 
cine," an oily substance obtained from a gland in the scrotum of 

r 2 



244 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxvii. 

the beaver, but distinct from the testes. A stick is dipped into 
this and planted over the trap ; and the beaver, attracted by the 
smell, and wishing a close inspection, very foolishly puts his leg 
into the trap, and is a " gone beaver." 

When a lodge is discovered, the trap is set at the edge of the 
dam, at the point where the animal passes from deep to shoal 
water, and always under water. Early in the morning the hunter 
mounts his mule and examines the traps. The captured animals 
are skinned, and the tails, which are a great dainty, carefully 
packed into camp. The skin is then stretched over a hoop or 
framework of osier-twigs, and is allowed to dry, the flesh and 
fatty substance being carefully scraped (grained). When dry, 
it is folded into a square sheet, the fur turned inwards, and the 
bundle, containing about ten to twenty skins, tightly pressed and 
corded, and is ready for transportation. 

During the hunt, regardless of Indian vicinity, the fearless 
trapper wanders far and near in search of " sign." His nerves 
must ever be in a state of tension, and his mind ever present at 
his call. His eagle eye sweeps round the country, and in an 
instant detects any foreign appearance. A turned leaf, a blade 
of grass pressed down, the uneasiness of the wild animals, the 
flight of birds, are all paragraphs to him written in nature's 
legible hand and plainest language. All the wits of the subtle 
savage are called into play to gain an advantage over the wily 
woodsman ; but with the natural instinct of primitive man, the 
white hunter has the advantages of a civilised mind, and, thus 
provided, seldom fails to outwit, under equal advantages, the 
cunning savage. 

Sometimes, following on his trail, the Indian watches him set 
his traps on a shrub-belted stream, and, passing up the bed, like 
Bruce of old, so that he may leave no track, he lies in wait in 
the bushes until the hunter comes to examine his carefullv-set 
traps. Then, waiting until he approaches his ambushment within 
a few feet, whiz flies the home-drawn arrow, never failing at 
such close quarters to bring the victim to the ground. For one 
white scalp, however, that dangles in the smoke of an Indian's 
lodge, a dozen black ones, at the end of the hunt, ornament the 
camp-fires of the rendezvous. 

At a certain time, when the hunt is over, or they have loaded 



chap, xxvii.] THE RENDEZVOUS— GAMBLING. 245 

their pack-animals, the trappers proceed to the " rendezvous," 
the locality of which has been previously agreed upon ; and here 
the traders and agents of the fur companies await them, with 
such assortment of goods as their hardy customers may require, 
including generally a fair supply of alcohol. The trappers drop 
in singly and iu small bands, bringing their packs of beaver to 
this mountain market, not unfrequently to the value of a thousand 
dollars each, the produce of one hunt. The dissipation of the 
" rendezvous," however, soon turns the trapper's pocket inside 
out. The goods brought by the traders, although of the most 
inferior quality, are sold at enormous prices : — Coffee, twenty and 
thirty shillings a pint-cup, which is the usual measure ; tobacco 
fetches ten and fifteen shillings a plug ; alcohol, from twenty 
to fifty shillings a pint ; gunpowder, sixteen shillings a pint- 
cup ; and all other articles at proportionably exorbitant prices. 

The " beaver " is purchased at from two to eight dollars 
per pound ; the Hudson's Bay Company alone buying it by the 
pluie, or " plew," that is, the whole skin, giving a certain price 
for skins, whether of old beaver or " kittens." 

The rendezvous is one continued scene of drunkenness, gam- 
bling, and brawling and fighting, as long as the money and credit 
of the trappers last. Seated, Indian fashion, round the fires, with 
a blanket spread before them, groups are seen with their "decks" 
of cards, playing at "euker," "poker," and "seven-up," the 
regular mountain-games. The stakes are " beaver," which here 
is current coin ; and when the fur is gone, their horses, mules, 
rifles, and shirts, hunting-packs, and breeches, are staked. Daring 
gamblers make the rounds of the camp, challenging each other 
to play for the trapper's highest stake, — his horse, his squaw (if 
he have one), and, as once happened, his scalp. There goes 
" hos and beaver !" is the mountain expression when any great 
loss is sustained ; and, sooner or later, " hos and beaver" inva- 
riably find their way into the insatiable pockets of the traders. 
A trapper often squanders the produce of his hunt, amounting 
to hundreds of dollars, in a couple of hours ; and, supplied on 
credit with another equipment, leaves the rendezvous for another 
expedition, which has the same result time after time ; although 
one tolerably successful hunt would enable him to return to the 
settlements and civilised life, with an ample sum to purchase and 



24G ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxvii. 



stock a farm, and enjoy himself in ease and comfort the remainder 
of his days* 

An old trapper, a French Canadian, assured me that he had 
received fifteen thousand dollars for beaver during a sojourn of 
twenty years in the mountains. Every year he resolved in his 
mind to return to Canada, and, with this object, always converted 
his fur into cash ; but a fortnight at the " rendezvous " always 
cleaned him out, and, at the end of twenty years, he had not even 
credit sufficient to buy a pound of powder. 

These annual gatherings are often the scene of bloody duels, 
for over their cups and cards no men are more quarrelsome 
than your mountaineers. Rifles, at twenty paces, settle all dif- 
ferences, and, as may be imagined, the fall of one or other of the 
combatants is certain, or, as sometimes happens, both fall to 
the word " fire." 

A day or two after my return from the mountain, I was out 
in search of my animals along the river-bottom, when I met a 
war-party of Arapahos loping along on foot in Indian file. It 
Mas the same party who had been in the vicinity of our camp 
on Fontaine-qui-bouille, and was led by a chief called " Coxo" 
" the Game Leg." They were all painted and armed for war, 
carrying bows and well-filled quivers, war-clubs and lances, and 
some had guns in deerskin covers. They were all naked to the 
waist, a single buffalo robe being thrown over them, and from 
his belt each one had a lariat or rope of hide to secure the 
animals stolen in the expedition. They were returning without 
a scalp, having found the Yutas " not at home;" and this was 
considered a sign by the hunters that they would not be scru- 
pulous in " raising some hair," if they caught a straggler far 
from camp. However, their present visit was for the purpose 
of procuring some meat, of which they stood in need, as to reach 
their village they had to cross a country destitute of game. 
They were all remarkably fine young men, and perfectly cleanly 
in their persons ; indeed, when on the war-path, more than 
ordinary care is taken to adorn the body, and the process of 
painting occupies considerable time and attention. The Ara- 
pahos do not shave their heads, as do the Pawnees, Caws, and 
Osages, merely braiding the centre or scalp lock, and decorating 
it with a gay ribbon or feather of the war-eagle. 



chap, xxvii.] ARTY OF ARAPAHoS. 247 

This war-party was twenty-one in number, the oldest, with the 
exception of the chief, being under thirty, and not one of them 
than five feet eight inches in height. In this they differ 
from their neighbours the Yutas and Comanches, who are of small 
stature; the latter especially, when off their horses, prtse g 
small ungainly figures, with legs crooked by constant riding, and 
limbs exhibiting but little muscular development. Not one of 
:ipaho band but could have sat as a model for an Apollo. 
During their stay the animals were all collected and corralled, 
as their penchant for horse-flesh, it was thought likely, might 
lead some of the young men to appropriate a horse or mule. 

Each tribe of Prairie Indians has a different method of making 
mocassins, so that any one, acquainted with the various fashions, 
is at no loss to know the nation to which any particular one 
belongs whom he may happen to meet. The Arapahos and 
Cheyennes use a "shoe" mocassin, that is, one which reaches 
no higher than the instep, and wants the upper side-flaps which 
mocassins usually have. I always used Chippewa mocassins, 
which differ from those of the Prairie make, by the seam being 
made up the centre of the foot to the leg, and puckered into 
plaits. This, which is the true fashion of the " Forest Indian," 
who, by the by, is as distinct in character and appearance from 
him of the " plains " as a bear from a bluebottle, attracted the 
attention of the Arapaho warriors, and caused a lively discussion 
amongst themselves, owing to the novelty of the manufacture. 
They all surrounded me, and each examined and felt carefully 
the unusual chaussure. 

" Ti-vah !" was the universal exclamation of astonishment. 

■ 

The old chief was the last to approach, and, after a minute 
examination, he drew himself up, and explained to them, as I 
perfectly understood by his gestures, " that the people who made 
those mocassins lived far, far away from the sun, where the snow 
lay deep on the ground, and where the night was illuminated by 
the mystery fire (the ' aurora borealis '), which he had seen, years 
. far to the north." 

The vicinity of the " pueblo " affording no pasture, my caval- 
lada had undertaken a voyage of discovery in search of grass, 
and had found a small valley up the bed of a dry creek, in which 
grew an abundance of bunch-gTass. As, however, the river was 



248 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxvii. 

fast frozen, they were unable to find a watering-place them- 
selves, and one day made their appearance in camp, evidently 
for the purpose of being conducted to water : I therefore led 
them to the river and broke a large hole, which they invariably 
resorted to every morning and evening at the same h ur, al- 
though it was three or four miles from their feeding-place. 
This enabled me to catch them whenever I required, for at a 
certain time I had only to go to this hole, and I never failed to 
see them approaching leisurely, the mules following the horse in 
Indian file, and always along the same trail which they had 
made in the snow. 

The grass, although to all appearance perfectly withered, still 
retained considerable nourishment, and the mules improved fast 
in flesh. Panchito, however, fell off in condition as the others 
improved, more, I think, from the severity of the winter than 
the scarcity of grass. When they had cleared the valley they 
sought a pasture still farther off, and, after losing sight of them 
for fifteen days, I found them fifteen miles from the river, at the 
foot of the mountain, in a prairie in which was a pool of water 
(which prevented their having recourse to the water-hole I had 
made for them), and where was plenty of buffalo -grass. 

It was now always a day's work for me to catch my hunting- 
mule, and the animals were becoming so wild that I often re- 
turned without effecting the capture at all, my only chance being 
to chase them on horseback and lasso the horse, when they all 
followed as quiet as lambs, never caring to forsake their old com- 
panion. 

The weather in January, February, and March was exceed- 
ingly severe ; storms of sleet and snow, invariably accompanied 
by hurricanes of wind, were of daily occurrence, but the snow 
rarely remained more than thirty hours on the ground, an hour 
or two of the meridian sun being sufficient to cause it to dis- 
appear. On the 17th of March the ice in the Arkansa " moved" 
for the first time, and the next day it was entirely broken up, 
and the arrival of spring-weather was confidently expected. 
However, it froze once more in a few days as firm as ever, and 
the weather became colder than before, with heavy snow-storms 
and hard gales of wind. After this succeeded a spell of fine 
weather, and about the 24th the ice moved bodily away, and the 



chap, xxvii.] BREAKING OF ICE ON THE ARKANSA. 249 

river was clear from that date, the edges of the water only being 
frozen in the morning. Geese now made their appearance in 
considerable numbers, and afforded an agreeable variety to our 
perpetual venison and tough bull- meat, as well as good sport in 
shooting them with rifles. The " blue bird " followed the goose ; 
and when the first robin was seen, the hunters pronounced the 
winter at an end. 

When the river was clear of ice I tried my luck with the fish, 
and in ten minutes pulled out as many trout, hickory shad, and 
suckers, but from that time never succeeded in getting a nibble. 
The hunters accounted for this by saying that the fish migrate 
up the stream as soon as the ice breaks, seeking the deep holes 
and bends of its upper waters, and that my first piscatory at- 
tempt w r as in the very nick of time, when a shoal was passing 
up for the first time after the thaw. 

Towards the latter end of March I removed my animals from 
their pasture, which was getting dry and rotten, and took them 
up Fontaine-qui-bouille into the mountains, where the grass is of 
better quality and more abundant. On the Arkansa and the 
neighbouring prairies not a vestige of spring vegetation yet 
presented itself, but nearer the mountains the grass was begin- 
ning to shoot. It is a curious fact that the young blade of the 
buffalo and bunch grass pierces its way through the old one, 
which completely envelops and protects the tender blade from 
the nipping frosts of spring, and thus also the weakening effects 
of feeding on the young grass are rendered less injurious to horses 
and mules, since they are obliged to eat the old together with 
the young shoots. 

The farther I advanced up the creek, and the nearer the 
mountains, the more forward was the vegetation, although even 
here in its earliest stage. The bunch-grass was getting green 
at the roots, and the absinthe and grease-wood were throwing 
out their buds. As yet, however, the cotton-w r oods and the 
larger trees in the bottom showed no signs of leaf, and the cur- 
rant and cherry bushes still looked dry and sapless. The thickets, 
however, were filled with birds, and resounded with their songs, 
and the plains were alive with prairie-dogs, busy in repairing 
their houses and barking lustilv as I rode through their towns. 
Turkeys, too, were calling in the timber, and the boom of the 



250 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxvii. 



prairie-fowl, at rise and set of sun, was heard on every side. The 
snow had entirely disappeared from the plains, but Pike's Peak 
and the mountains were still clad in white ; the latter, being 
sometimes clear of snow and looking dark and sombre, would 
for an hour or two be hidden by a curtain of clouds, which rising 
displayed the mountains, before black and furrowed, now white 
and smooth with their snowy mantle. 

On my way I met a band of hunters who had been driven in 
by a war-party of Arapahos, who were encamped on the eastern 
fork of the Fontaine-qui-bouille. They strongly urged me to 
return, as, being alone, I could not fail to be robbed of my 
animals, if not killed myself. However, in pursuance of my 
fixed rule, never to stop on account of Indians, I proceeded up 
the river, and about fifty miles from the mouth encamped on the 
first fork, where was an abundance of deer and antelope. In thp 
timber on the banks of the creek I erected a little shanty, cover- 
ing it with the bark of the prostrate trees which strewed the 
ground, and picketing my animals at night in a little prairie 
within sight, where they luxuriated on plenty of buffalo-grass. 
Here I remained for a day or two hunting in the mountain, 
leaving my cavallada to take care of themselves, and at the 
mercy of the Arapahos should they discover them. At night I 
returned to camp, made a fire, and cooked an appola of antelope- 
meat, and enjoyed my solitary pipe after supper with as much 
relish as if I was in a divan, and lay down on my blanket, 
serenaded by packs of hungry wolves, and sleeping as soundly as 
if there were no such people in existence as Arapahos, merely 
waking now and then and raising my hand to the top of my 
head, to assure myself that my top-knot was in its place. 

The next day I moved up the main fork, on which I had been 
directed by the hunters to proceed, in order to visit the far-famed 
springs from which the creek takes its name. The valley of 
the upper waters is very picturesque : many mountain-streams 
course through it, a narrow line of timber skirting their banks. 
On the western side the rugged mountains frown overhead, and 
rugged canons filled with pine and cedar gape into the plain. 
At the head of the valley, the ground is much broken up into 
gullies and ravines where it enters the mountain-spurs, with 
topes of pine and cedar scattered here and there, and masses of 



chap, xxvn.] SODA-WATER. 251 

rock tossed about in wild confusion. On entering the broken 
ground the creek turns more to the westward, and passes by two 
remarkable buttes* of a red conglomerate, which appear at a 
distance like tablets cut in the mountain-side. The eastern fork 
skirts the base of the range, coming from the ridge called " The 
Divide," which separates the waters of the Platte and Arkansa ; 
and between the main stream and this branch, running north and 
south, is a limestone ledge which forms the western wall of the 
lateral valley running at right angles from that of the Fon- 
taine-qui-bouille. The uplands are clothed with cedar and dwarf 
oak, the bottoms of the river with cotton- wood, quaking-asp, 
oak, ash, and box-alder, and a thick undergrowth of cherry and 
currant bushes. 

I followed a very good lodge pole-trail, which struck the creek 
before entering the broken ground, being that used by the Yutas 
and Arapahos on their way to the Bayou Salado. Here the 
valley narrowed considerably, and, turning an angle with the 
creek, I was at once shut in by mountains and elevated ridges, 
which rose on each side the stream. This was now a rapid tor- 
rent, tumbling over rocks and stones, and fringed with oak and 
a shrubbery of brush. A few miles on, the canon opened out 
into a little shelving glade ; and on the right bank of the stream, 
and raised several feet above it, was a flat white rock in which 
was a round hole, where one of the celebrated springs hissed and 
bubbled with its escaping gas. 1 had been cautioned against 
drinking this, being directed to follow the stream a few yards to 
another, which is the true soda-spring. 

Before doing this, however, I unpacked the mule and took the 
saddle from Panchito, piling my saddle and meat on the rock. 
The animals, as soon as I left them free, smelt the white rock, 
and instantly commenced licking and scraping with their teeth 
with the greatest eagerness. At last the horse approached the 
spring, and, burying his nose deep in the clear water, drank 
greedily. The mules appeared at first to fear the bubbling of 
the gas, and smelt and retreated two or three times before they 
mustered courage to take a draught ; but when they had once 
tasted the water I thought they would have burst themselves. 

* Any prominent rock or bluff is called a butte (pronounced biute) by the 
hunters and trappers. 



252 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxvti. 

For hours they paid no attention to the grass, continuing to lick 
the rock and constantly returning to the spring to drink. For 
myself, I had not only abstained from drinking that day, but, 
with the aid of a handful of salt which I had brought with me 
for the purpose, had so highly seasoned my breakfast of venison, 
that I was in a most satisfactory state of thirst. I therefore at 
once proceeded to the other spring, and found it about forty 
yards from the first, but immediately above the river, issuing 
from a little basin in the flat white rock, and trickling over the 
edge into the stream. The escape of gas in this was much 
stronger than in the other, and was similar to water boiling 
smartly. 

I had provided myself with a tin cup holding about a pint ; 
but, before dipping it in, I divested myself of my pouch and belt, 
and sat down in order to enjoy the draught at my leisure. I was 
half dead with thirst ; and, tucking up the sleeves of my hunting- 
shirt, I dipped the cup into the midst of the bubbles, and raised 
it hissing and sparkling to my lips. Such a draught ! Three 
times, without drawing a breath, was it replenished and emptied, 
almost blowing up the roof of my mouth with its effervescence. 
It was equal to the very best soda-water, but possesses that fresh, 
natural flavour, which manufactured water cannot impart. 



chap, xxviii.] SUPERSTITION OF ARAPAHOS. 253 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

The " Medicine " Spring — Superstition of Arapahds — Offerings to the Water 
God — Legend of the Boiling Fountain — A Hunter's Paradise — Daybreak 
in the Mountains — Hunting — Bears — Disagreeable Surprise — Mountain 
on Fire — Touch and Go — Run before it — Fire and Water — Camp on 
Fontaine-qui-bouille — Fire follows — Green Grass — Audacity of Wolves. 

The Indians regard with awe the " medicine " waters of these 
fountains, as being the abode of a spirit who breathes through 
the transparent water, and thus, by his exhalations, causes the 
perturbation of its surface. The Arapahos, especially, attribute 
to this water-god the power of ordaining the success or mis- 
carriage of their war-expeditions ; and as their braves pass often 
by the mysterious springs, when in search of their hereditary 
enemies the Yutas, in the " Valley of Salt," they never fail to 
bestow their votive offerings upon the water-sprite, in order to 
propitiate the " Manitou" of the fountain, and ensure a fortunate 
issue to their "path of war." 

Thus, at the time of my visit the basin of the spring was filled 
with beads and wampum, and pieces of red cloth and knives, 
whilst the surrounding trees were hung with strips of deerskin, 
cloth, and mocassins, to which, had they been serviceable, I would 
most sacrilegiously have helped myself. The "sign," too, round 
the spring, plainly showed that here a war-dance had been exe- 
cuted by the braves ; and I was not a little pleased to find that 
they had already been here, and were not likely to return the 
same way ; but in this supposition I was quite astray. 

This country was once possessed by the Shos-shone or Snake 
Indians, of whom the Comanches of the plains are a branch ; 
and although many hundred miles now divide their hunting- 
grounds, they were once, if not the same people, tribes of the 
same grand nation. They still, however, retain a common lan- 
guage ; and there is great analogy in many of their religious rites 
and legendary tales, which proves that at least a very close alliance 



254 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxviii. 

must at one period have bound the two tribes together. They 
are even now the two most powerful nations, in point of numbers, 
of all the tribes of western Indians; the Comanche ruling supreme 
on the eastern plains, as the Shos-shones are the dominant power 
in the country west of the Rocky Mountains, and in the 
mountains themselves. A branch of the latter is the tribe of 
Tlamath Indians, the most warlike of the western tribes ; as also 
the Yutas, who may be said to connect them with the nation of 
Comanche. 

Numerically, the Snakes are supposed to be the most powerful 
of any Indian nation in existence. 

The Snakes, who, in common with all Indians, possess heredi- 
tary legends to account for all natural phenomena, or any extraor- 
dinary occurrences which are beyond their ken or comprehension, 
have of course their legendary version of the causes which created, 
in the midst of their hunting-grounds, these two springs of sweet 
and bitter water ; which are also intimately connected with the 
cause of separation between the tribes of " Comanche" and the 
" Snake." Thus runs the legend : — 

Many hundreds of winters ago, when the cotton-woods on the 
Big River were no higher than an arrow, and the red men, who 
hunted the buffalo on the plains, all spoke the same language, 
and the pipe of peace breathed its social cloud of kinnik-kinnek 
whenever two parties of hunters met on the boundless plains — 
when, with hunting-grounds and game of every kind in the 
greatest abundance, no nation dug up the hatchet with another 
because one of its hunters followed the game into their bounds, 
but, on the contrary, loaded for him his back with choice and 
fattest meat, and ever proffered the soothing pipe before the 
stranger, with well-filled belly, left the village, — it happened that 
two hunters of different nations met one day on a small rivulet, 
where both had repaired to quench their thirst. A little stream 
of water, rising from a spring on a rock within a few feet of the 
bank, trickled over it, and fell splashing into the river. To this 
the hunters repaired ; and whilst one sought the spring itself, 
where the water, cold and clear, reflected on its surface the 
image of the surrounding scenery, the other, tired by his exer- 
tions in the chase, threw himself at once to the ground, and 
plunged his face into the running stream. 



chap, xxvm.] LEGEND OF THE BOILING FOUNTAIN. 255 

The latter had been unsuccessful in the chase, and perhaps his 
bad fortune, and the sight of the fat deer which the other hunter 
threw from his back before he drank at the crystal spring, caused 
a feeling of jealousy and ill-humour to take possession of his mind. 
The other, on the contrary, before he satisfied his thirst, raised 
in the hollow of his hand a portion of the water, and, lifting it 
towards the sun, reversed his hand, and allowed it to fall upon 
the ground, — a libation to the Great Spirit who had vouchsafed 
him a successful hunt, and the blessing of the refreshing water 
with which he was about to quench his thirst. 

Seeing this, and being reminded that he had neglected the 
usual offering, only increased the feeling of envy and annoyance 
which the unsuccessful hunter permitted to get the mastery of his 
heart ; and the Evil Spirit at that moment entering his body, his 
temper fairly flew away, and he sought some pretence by which 
to provoke a quarrel with the stranger Indian at the spring. 

•• Why does a stranger," he asked, rising from the stream at 
the same time, " drink at the spring-head, when one to whom 
the fountain belongs contents himself w r ith the water that runs 
from it ?" 

;i The Great Spirit places the cool water at the spring," 
answered the other hunter, " that his children may drink it pure 
and undefiled. The running water is for the beasts which scour 
the plains. Au-sa-qua is a chief of the Shos-shone : he drinks 
at the head-water." 

" The Shos-shone is but a tribe of the Comanche," returned 
the other : " Waco-mish leads the grand nation. Why does a 
Shos-shone dare to drink above him ?" 

u He has said it. The Shos-shone drinks at the spring-head ; 
other nations of the stream which runs into the fields. Au-sa-qua 
is chief of his nation. The Comanche are brothers. Let them 
both drink of the same water." 

<; The Shos-shone pays tribute to the Comanche. Waco-mish 
leads that nation to war. Waco-mish is chief of the Shos-shone, 
as he is of his own people." 

" Waco-mish lies ; his tongue is forked like the rattlesnake's ; 
his heart is black as the Misho-tunga (bad spirit). When the 
Manitou made his children, whether Shos-shone or Comanche, 
Arapaho, Shi-an, or Pa-ne, he gave them buffalo to eat, and the 



256 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c [chap, xxviii. 

pure water of the fountain to quench their thirst. He said not 
to one, Drink here, and to another, Drink there ; but gave the 
crystal spring to all, that all might drink." 

Waco-mish almost burst with rage as the other spoke ; but his 
coward heart alone prevented him from provoking an encounter 
with the calm Shos-shone. He, made thirsty by the words he 
had spoken — for the red man is ever sparing of his tongue — 
again stooped down to the spring to quench his thirst, when the 
subtle warrior of the Comanche suddenly threw himself upon the 
kneeling hunter, and, forcing his head into the bubbling water, 
held him down with all his strength, until his victim no longer 
struggled, his stiffened limbs relaxed, and he fell forward over 
the spring, drowned and dead. 

Over the body stood the murderer, and no sooner was the deed 
of blood consummated than bitter remorse took possession of his 
mind, where before had reigned the fiercest passion and vindictive 
hate. "With hands clasped to his forehead, he stood transfixed 
with horror, intently gazing on his victim, whose head still 
remained immersed in the fountain. Mechanically he dragged 
the body a few paces from the water, which, as soon as the head 
of the dead Indian was withdrawn, the Comanche saw suddenly 
and strangely disturbed. Bubbles sprang up from the bottom, 
and, rising to the surface, escaped in hissing gas. A thin 
vapoury cloud arose, and, gradually dissolving, displayed to the 
eyes of the trembling murderer the figure of an aged Indian, 
whose long snowy hair and venerable beard, blown aside by a 
gentle air from his breast, discovered the well-known totem of 
the great Wan-kan-aga, the father of the Comanche and Shos- 
shone nation, whom the tradition of the tribe, handed down by 
skilful hieroglyphics, almost deified for the good actions and 
deeds of bravery this famous warrior had performed when on 
earth. 

Stretching out a war-club towards the affrighted murderer, 
the figure thus addressed him : — 

" Accursed of my tribe ! this day thou hast severed the link 
between the mightiest nations of the world, while the blood of 
the brave Shos-shone cries to the Manitou for vengeance. May 
the water of thy tribe be rank and bitter in their throats !" Thus 
saying, and swinging his ponderous war-club (made from the 



chap, xxviii.] LEGEND. 257 

elk's horn) round his head, he dashed out the brains of the Co- 
manche, who fell headlong into the spring, which, from that 
day to the present moment, remains rank and nauseous, so that 
not even when half dead with thirst, can one drink the foul 
water of that spring. 

The good Wan-kan-aga, however, to perpetuate the memory 
of the Shos-shone warrior, who was renowned in his tribe for 
valour and nobleness of heart, struck with the same avenging 
club a hard flat rock, which overhung the rivulet, just out of 
sight of this scene of blood ; and forthwith the rock opened 
into a round clear basin, which instantly filled with bubbling 
sparkling water, than which no thirsty hunter ever drank a 
sweeter or a cooler draught. 

Thus the two springs remain, an everlasting memento of the 
foul murder of the brave Shos-shone, and the stern justice of the 
good Wan-kan-aga ; and from that day the two mighty tribes of 
the Shos-shone and Comanche have remained severed and apart ; 
although a long and bloody war followed the treacherous murder 
of the Shos-shone chief, and many a scalp torn from the head of 
the Comanche paid the penalty of his death. 

The American and Canadian trappers assert that the numerous 
springs w r hich, under the head of Beer, Soda, Steam-boat springs, 
&c, abound in the Rocky Mountains, are the spots where his 
satanic majesty comes up from his kitchen to breathe the sweet 
fresh air, which must doubtless be refreshing to his worship after 
a few hours spent in superintending the culinary process going 
on below. 

Xever was there such a paradise for hunters as this lone and 
solitary spot. The shelving prairie, at the bottom of which the 
springs are situated, is entirely surrounded by rugged mountains, 
and, containing perhaps two or three acres of excellent grass, 
affords a safe pasture to their animals, which would hardly care to 
wander from such feeding and the salitrose rocks they love so 
well to lick. Immediately overhead Pike's Peak, at an eleva- 
tion of 12,000 feet above the level of the sea, towers high into 
the clouds; whilst from the fountain, like a granitic amphi- 
theatre, ridge after ridge, clothed with pine and cedar, rises and 
meets the stupendous mass of mountains, well called " Rocky," 
which stretches far away north and southward, their gigantic 

s 



258 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxviii. 

peaks being visible above the strata of clouds which hide their 
rugged bases. 

This first day the sun shone out bright and warm, and not a 
breath of wind ruffled the evergreen foliage of the cedar-groves. 
Gay-plumaged birds were twittering in the shrubs, and ravens 
and magpies were chattering overhead, attracted by the meat I 
had hung upon a tree ; the mules, having quickly filled themselves, 
were lying round the spring, basking lazily in the sun ; and my- 
self, seated on a pack, and pipe in mouth, with rifle ready at my 
side, indolently enjoyed the rays which, reverberated from the 
white rock on which I was lying, were deliciously warm and 
soothing. A piece of rock, detached from the mountain-side 
and tumbling noisily down, caused me to look up in the direc- 
tion whence it came. Haifa dozen big-horns, or Rocky Moun- 
tain sheep, perched on the pinnacle of a rock, were gazing 
wonderingly upon the prairie, where the mules were rolling 
enveloped in clouds of dust. The enormous horns of the moun- 
tain sheep appeared so disproportionably heavy, that I every 
moment expected to see them lose their balance and topple over 
the giddy height. My motions frightened (hem, and, jumping 
from rock to rock, they quickly disappeared up the steepest part 
of the mountain. At the same moment a herd of black-tail deer 
crossed the corner of the glade within rifle-shot of me, but, fear- 
ing the vicinity of Indians, I refrained from firing before I had 
reconnoitred the vicinity for signs of their recent presence. 

Immediately over me, on the left bank of the stream, and high 
above the springs, was a small plateau, one of many which are 
seen on the mountain-sides. Three buffalo-bulls were here 
quietly feeding, and remained the whole afternoon undisturbed. 
I saw from the sign that they had very recently drunk at the 
springs, and that the little prairie where my animals were feed- 
ing was a frequent resort of solitary bulls. 

Perceiving that the game, which was in sight on every side of 
me, was unwarily tame, I judged from this fact that no Indians 
were in the immediate vicinity, and therefore I resolved to camp 
where I was. Ascending a bluff where had been an old Indian 
camp, I found a number of old lodge-poles, and packed them 
down to the springs, near which I made my fire, but out of 
arrow-shot of the shrubbery which lines the stream. Instead of 



chap, xxviii.] DAYBREAK IN THE MOUNTAINS. 259 

permitting the animals to run loose, I picketed them close to 
and round the camp, in order that they might act as sentinels 
during the night, for no man or dog can so soon discover the 
presence or approach of an Indian as a mule. The organ and 
sense of smelling in these animals are so acute that they at once 
detect the scent peculiar to the natives, and, snorting loud with 
fear, and by turning their heads with ears pointed to the spot 
whence the danger is approaching, wake, and warn at the same 
moment, their sleeping masters of the impending peril. 

However, this night I was undisturbed, and slept soundly until 
the chattering of a magpie overhead awoke me, just as Pike's 
Peak was being tinged with the first grey streak of dawn. 

Daybreak in this wild spot was beautiful in the extreme. 
While the deep gorge in which I lay was still buried in perfect 
gloom, the mountain-tops loomed grey and indistinct from out 
the morning mist. A faint glow of light broke over the ridge 
which shut out the valley from the east, and, spreading over the 
sky, first displayed the snow-covered peak, a wreath of vapoury 
mist encircling it, which gradually rose and disappeared. Sud- 
denly the dull white of its summit glowed with light like bur- 
nished silver ; and at the same moment the whole eastern sky 
blazed, as it were, in gold, and ridge and peak, catching the 
refulgence, glittered with the beams of the rising sun, which at 
length, peeping over the crest, flooded at once the valley with its 
dazzling- light. 

Blowing the ashes of the slumbering fire, I placed upon it the 
little pot containing a piece of venison for my breakfast, and, 
relieving my four-footed sentries from their picket-guard, sallied 
down to the stream, the edges of which were still thickly crusted 
with ice, for the purpose of taking a luxuriously-cold bath ; and 
cold enough it was in all conscience. After my frugal break- 
fast, unseasoned by bread or salt, or by any other beverage than 
the refreshing soda-water, I took my rifle and sallied up the 
mountain to hunt, consigning my faithful animals to the protec- 
tion of the Dryad of the fountain, offering to that potent sprite 
the never-failing M medicine" of the first whiff of my pipe before 
starting from the spot. 

Climbing up the mountain-side, I reached a level plateau, in- 
terspersed with clumps of pine and cedar, where a herd of black- 

s 2 



260 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxviii. 



tail deer were quietly feeding. As I had the u wind" I approached 
under cover of a cedar whose branches feathered to the ground, 
and, resting my rifle in a forked limb, I selected the plumpest- 
looking of the band, a young buck, and " let him have it, " as 
the hunters say. Struck through the heart, the deer for an instant 
stretched out its limbs convulsively, and then bounded away with 
the band, but in a zig-zag course ; and unlike the rest, whose tails 
were lifted high, his black tufted appendage was fast "shut up." 
Whilst I, certain of his speedy fall, reloaded my rifle, the band, 
seeing their comrade staggering behind, suddenly stopped. The 
wounded animal with outstretched neck ran round and round for 
a few seconds in a giddy circle, and dropped dead within sixty 
yards of where I stood. The others, like sheep, walked slowly 
up to the dead animal, and again my rifle gave out its sharp 
crack from the screen of branches, and another of the band, jump- 
ing high in air, bit the dust. They were both miserably poor, 
so much so that I left all but the hind quarters and fleece, and 
hanging them upon a tree I returned to camp for a mule to 
pack in the meat. 

The mountains are full of grizzly bears, but, whether they had 
not yet left their winter-quarters thus early in the season, I saw 
but one or two tracks, one of which I followed unsuccessfully 
for many miles over the wildest part of the mountains, into the 
Bayou Salado. Whilst intent upon the trail, a clattering as of a 
regiment of cavalry immediately behind me made me bring my 
rifle to the ready, thinking that a whole nation of mounted In- 
dians were upon me ; but, looking back, a band of upwards of a 
hundred elk were dashing past, looking like a herd of mules, and 
in their passage down the mountain carrying with them a perfect 
avalanche of rocks and stones. I killed another deer on my 
return close to camp, which I reached, packing in the meat on 
my back, long after dark, and found the animals, which received 
me with loud neighs of recognition and welcome, with well-filled 
bellies, taking their evening drink at the springs. 

I spent here a very pleasant time, and my animals began soon 
to improve upon the mountain-grass. Game was very abundant ; 
indeed, I had far more meat than I possibly required ; but the 
surplus I hung up to jerk, as now the sun was getting powerful 
enough for that process. 



chap, xxviii.] DISAGREEABLE SURPRISE. 261 

I explored all the valleys and canons of the mountains, and 
even meditated an expedition to the summit of Pike's Peak, 
where mortal foot has never yet trod. No dread of Indians 
crossed my mind, probably because I had remained so long un- 
molested ; and I was so perfectly contented that I had even 
selected a camping-ground where I intended to remain two or 
three months, and probably should be at the present moment, if 
I had not got into a " scrape." 

The bears latterly began to move, and their tracks became 
more frequent. One day I was hunting just at the foot of the 
Peak, when a large she-bear jumped out of a patch of cedars 
where she had been lying, and with a loud grunt charged up the 
mountain, and, dodging amongst the rocks, prevented my getting 
a crack at her. She was very old, and the grizzliest of the 
grizzly. She was within a few feet of me when I first saw her. 
It was unluckily nearly dark, or I should have followed and pro- 
bably killed her, for they seldom run far, particularly at this 
season, when they are lank and weak. 

One day as I was following a band of deer over the broken 
ground to the eastward of the mountain, I came suddenly upon 
an Indian camp, with the fire still smouldering, and dried meat 
hanging on the trees. Robinson Crusoe could not have been 
more thoroughly disgusted at sight of the " footprint in the 
sand," than was I at this inopportune discovery. I had anticipated 
a month or two's undisturbed hunting in this remote spot, and 
now it was out of the question to imagine that the Indians would 
leave me unmolested. I presently saw two Indians, carrying a 
deer between them, emerge from the timber bordering the creek, 
whom I knew at once by their dress to be Arapahos. As, how- 
ever, my camp was several miles distant, I still hoped that they 
had not yet discovered its locality, and continued my hunt 
that day, returning late in the evening to my solitary encamp- 
ment. 

The next morning I removed the animals and packs to a prai- 
rie a little lower down the stream, which, although nearer the 
Indian camp, was almost hidden from view, being enclosed by 
pine-ridges and ragged buttes, and entered by a narrow gap filled 
with a dense growth of brush. When I had placed them in se- 
curity, and taken the precaution to fasten them all to strong 



262 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxviii. 



picket-pins, with a sufficient length of rope to enable them to 
feed at ease, and at the same time prevent them straying back to 
the springs, I again sallied out to hunt. A little before sunrise 
I descended the mountain to the springs, and, being very tired, 
after taking a refreshing draught of the cold water, I lay down on 
the rock by the side of the water and fell fast asleep. When I 
awoke the sun had already set ; but although darkness was fast 
gathering over the mountain, I was surprised to see a bright light 
nickering against its sides. A glance assured me that the moun- 
tain was on fire, and, starting up, I saw at once the danger of my 
position. The bottom had been fired about a mile below the 
springs, and but a short distance from where I had secured my 
animals. A dense cloud of smoke was hanging over the gorge, 
and presently, a light air springing up from the east, a mass of 
name shot up into the sky and rolled fiercely up the stream, the 
belt of dry brush on its banks catching fire and burning like 
tinder. The mountain was already invaded by the devouring 
element, and two wings of flame spread out from the main stream, 
which roaring along the bottom with the speed of a racehorse, 
licked the mountain -side, extending its long line as it advanced. 
The dry pines and cedars hissed and cracked, as the flame, reach- 
ing them, ran up their trunks, and spread amongst the limbs, 
whilst the long waving grass underneath was a sea of fire. From 
the rapidity with which the fire advanced I feared that it would 
already have reached my animals, and hurried at once to the 
spot as fast as I could run. The prairie itself was as yet un- 
touched, but the surrounding ridges were clothed in fire, and the 
mules, with stretched ropes, were trembling with fear. Throwing 
the saddle on my horse, and the pack on the steadiest mule, I 
quickly mounted, leaving on the ground a pile of meat, which 
I had not time to carry with me. The fire had already gained 
the prairie, and its long, dry grass was soon a sheet of flame, 
but, worse than all, the gap through which I had to retreat was 
burning. Setting spurs into Panchito's sides, I dashed him at 
the burning bush, and, though his mane and tail were singed in 
the attempt, he gallantly charged through it. Looking back, I 
saw the mules huddled together on the other side, and evidently 
fearing to pass the blazing barrier. As, however, to stop would 
have been fatal, I dashed on but before I had proceeded twenty 



chap, xxviii.] FIRE AND WATER— FIRE FOLLOWS. 263 

yards my old hunting mule, singed and smoking, was at my side, 
and the others close behind her. 

On all sides I was surrounded by fire. The whole scenery 
illuminated, the peaks and distant ridges being as plainly 
visible as at noonday. The bottom was a roaring mass of flame, 
but on the other side, the prairie being more bare of cedar-bushes, 
the fire was less fierce and presented the only way of escape. To 
reach it, however, the creek had to be crossed, and the bushes 
on the banks were burning fiercely, which rendered it no easy 
matter ; moreover, the edges were coated above the water with 
thick ice, which rendered it still more difficult. I succeeded in 
pushing Panchito into the stream, but, in attempting to climb the 
opposite bank, a blaze of fire was puffed into his face, which 
caused him to rear on end, and, his hind feet flying away from 
him at the same moment on the ice, he fell backwards into the 
middle of the stream, and rolled over me in the deepest water. 
Panchito rose on his legs and stood trembling with affright in 
the middle of the stream, w r hilst I dived and groped for my rifle, 
which had slipped from my hands, and of course sunk to the bot- 
tom. After a search of some minutes I found it, and, again 
mounting, made another attempt to cross a little farther down, in 
which I succeeded, and, followed by the mules, dashed through 
the fire and got safely through the line of blazing brush. 

Once in safety, I turned in my saddle and had leisure to 
survey the magnificent spectacle. The fire had extended at least 
three miles on each side the stream, and the mountain was one 
sheet of flame. A comparatively thin line marked the progress 
of the devouring element, which, as there was no wind to direct 
its course, burned on all sides, actually roaring as it went. 

I had from the first no doubt but that the fire was caused by 
the Indians, who had probably discovered my animals, but, think- 
ing that a large party of hunters might be out, had taken advan- 
tage of a favourable wind to set fire to the bottom, hoping to 
secure the horse and mules in the confusion, without the risk of 
attacking the camp. Once or twice I felt sure that I saw r dark 
figures running about near where I had seen the Indian camp 
the previous day, and just as I had charged through the gap I 
heard a loud yell, which was answered by another at a little dis- 
tance. 



26^ 



ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxviii. 



Singularly enough, just as I had got through the blazing line, 
a breeze sprang up from the westward and drove the fire after 
me, and I had again to beat a hasty retreat before it.* 

I encamped six or seven miles from the springs, and, whilst 
proceeding down the creek, deer and antelope continually crossed 
and recrossed the trail, some in their affright running back into 
the very jaws of the fire. As soon as I had secured the animals 
I endeavoured to get my rifle into shooting order, but the water 
had so thoroughly penetrated and swelled the patching round the 
balls, that it was a long time before I succeeded in cleaning one 
barrel, the other defying all my attempts. This was a serious 
accident, as I could not but anticipate a visit from the Indians 
if they discovered the camp. 

All this time the fire was spreading out into the prairies, and, 
creeping up the " divide," was already advancing upon me. It 
extended at least five miles on the left bank of the creek, and on 
the right was more slowly creeping up the mountain-side ; while 
the brush and timber in the bottom was one body of flame. Be- 
sides the long sweeping line of the advancing flame, the plateaus 
on the mountain-side, and within the line, were burning in every 
direction, as the squalls and eddies down the gullies drove the 
fire to all points. 

The mountains themselves being invisible, the air, from the 
low ground where I then was, appeared a mass of fire, and huge 
crescents of flame danced as it were in the very sky, until a mass 
of timber blazing at once exhibited the sombre background of 
the stupendous mountains. 

I had scarcely slept an hour when huge clouds of smoke roll- 
ing down the bottom frightened the animals, whose loud hin- 
nying awoke me, and, half suffocated by the dense smoke which 
hung heavily in the atmosphere, I again retreated before the 
fire, which was rapidly advancing : and this time I did not stop 
until I had placed thirty or forty miles between me and the 
enemy. I then encamped in a thickly-timbered bottom on the 
Fontaine-qui-bouille, where the ground, which had been burned 
by the hunters in the winter, was studded like a wheat-field with 

* This fire extended into the prairie, towards the waters of the Platte, 
upwards of forty miles, and for fourteen days its glare was visible on the 
Arkansa, fifty miles distant. 



chap, xxviii.] DARING WOLVES. 265 

green grass. On this the animals fared sumptuously for several 
days — better, indeed, than I did myself, for game was very scarce, 
and in such poor condition as to be almost uneatable. While en- 
camped on this stream, the wolves infested the camp to that 
degree, that I could scarcely leave my saddles for a few minutes 
on the ground without finding the straps of raw hide gnawed to 
pieces ; and one night the hungry brutes ate up all the ropes 
which were tied on the necks of the animals and trailed along 
the ground : they were actually devoured to within a yard of 
the mules' throats. One evening a wolf came into camp as I 
was engaged cleaning my rifle, one barrel of which was still un- 
serviceable, and a long hickory wiping- stick in it at the time. 
As I was hidden by a tree, the wolf approached the fire within 
a few feet, and was soon tugging away at an apishamore or 
saddle-cloth of buffalo calfskin which lay on the ground. Without 
dreaming that the rifle would go off, I put a cap on the useless 
barrel, and, holding it out across my knee in a line with the wolf, 
snap — ph-i-zz — bang — went the charge of damp powder, much 
to my astonishment, igniting the stick which remained in the 
barrel, and driving it like a fiery comet against the ribs of the 
beast, who, yelling with pain, darted into the prairie at the top of 
his speed, his singed hair smoking as he ran. 



266 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c [chap. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

Buffalo— Their Disappearance from former Range — Their Meat — Cana- 
dians Feasting — Buffalo Hunting — Tenacity of Life in Buffalo — Death 
of a Bull — Thickness of Scalp-hair — Destruction of Buffalo. 

It is a singular fact that within the last two years the prairies, 
extending from the mountains to a hundred miles or more down 
the Arkansa, have been entirely abandoned by the buffalo. In- 
deed, in crossing from the settlements of New Mexico, the bound- 
ary of their former range is marked by skulls and bones, which 
appear fresher as the traveller advances westward and towards 
the waters of the Platte. As the skulls are said to last only three 
years on the surface of the ground, that period has consequently 
seen the gradual disappearance of the buffalo from their former 
haunts. 

With the exception of the Eayou Salado, one of their favourite 
pastures, they are now rarely met with in large bands on the 
upper waters of the Arkansa ; but straggling bulls pass occa- 
sionally the foot of the mountain, seeking wintering-places on 
the elevated plateaus, which are generally more free from snow 
than the lowland prairies, by reason of the high winds. The 
bulls separate from the cows about the month of September, 
and scatter over the prairies and into the mountains, where they 
recruit themselves during the winter. A few males, however, 
always accompany the cows, to act as guides and defenders of the 
herd, on the outskirts of which they are always stationed. The 
countless bands which are seen together at all seasons are gene- 
rally composed of cows alone ; the bulls congregating in smaller 
herds, and on the flanks of the main body. 

The meat of the cow is infinitely preferable to that of the male 
buffalo ; but that of the bull, particularly if killed in the moun- 
tains, is in better condition during the winter months. From the 
end of June to September bull-meat is rank and tough, and 
almost uneatable ; while the cows are in perfection, and as fat as 



chap. xxix.J BUFFALO-HUNTEKS FEASTIISG. 2G7 

stall-fed oxen, the " depouille " or fleece exhibiting frequently four 
inches and more of solid fat. 

Whether it is that the meat itself (which, by the way, is cer- 
tainly the most delicious of flesh) is most easy of digestion, or 
whether the digestive organs of hunters are u ostrichified " by the 
severity of exercise, and the bracing, wholesome climate of the 
mountains and plains, it is a fact that most prodigious quantities 
of " fat cow" may be swallowed with the greatest impunity, and 
not the slightest inconvenience ever follows the mammoth feasts 
of the gourmands of the far west. The powers of the Canadian 
voyageurs and hunters in the consumption of meat strike the 
greenhorn with wonder and astonishment ; and are only equalled 
by the gastronomical capabilities exhibited by Indian dogs, both 
following the same plan in their epicurean gorgings. 

On slaughtering a fat cow, the hunter carefully lays by, as a 
tit-bit for himself, the "boudins" and medullary intestine, which 
are prepared by being inverted and partially cleaned (this, how- 
ever, is not thought indispensable). The depouille or fleece, the 
short and delicious hump-rib and " tender loin," are then care- 
fully stowed away, and with these the rough edge of the appetite 
is removed. But the course is, par excellence, the sundry yards 
of " boudin," which, lightly browned over the embers of the fire, 
slide down the well-lubricated throat of the hungry mountaineer, 
yard after yard disappearing in quick succession. 

I once saw two Canadians * commence at either end of such a 
coil of grease, the mass lying between them on a dirty apishamore 
like the coil of a huge snake. As yard after yard glided glibly 
down their throats, and the serpent on the saddle-cloth was 
dwindling from an anaconda to a moderate-sized rattlesnake, it 
became a great point with each of the feasters to hurry his 
operation, so as to gain a march upon his neighbour, and im- 
prove the opportunity by swallowing more than his just propor- 
tion ; each, at the same time, exhorting the other, whatever he 
did, to feed fair, and every now and then, overcome by the un- 
blushing attempts of his partner to bolt a vigorous mouthful, 
would suddenly jerk back his head, drawing out at the same 
moment, by the retreating motion, several yards of boudin from 

* The majority of the trappers and mountain-hunters are French Cana- 
dians and Saint-Louis French Creoles. 



268 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxix. 

his neighbour's mouth and stomach (for the greasy viand required 
no mastication, and was bolted whole), and, snapping up himself 
the ravished portions, greedily swallowed them ; to be in turn 
again withdrawn and subjected to a similar process by the other. 

No animal requires so much killing as a buffalo. Unless shot 
through the lungs or spine, they invariably escape ; and, even 
when thus mortally wounded, or even struck through the very 
heart, they will frequently run a considerable distance before 
falling to the ground, particularly if they see the hunter after 
the wound is given. If, however, he keeps himself concealed 
after tiring, the animal will remain still, if it does not imme- 
diately fall. It is a most painful sight to witness the dying 
struggles of the huge beast. The buffalo invariably evinces the 
greatest repugnance to lie down when mortally wounded, appa- 
rently conscious that, when once touching mother earth, there is 
no hope left him. A bull, shot through the heart or lungs, with 
blood streaming from his mouth, and protruding tongue, his eyes 
rolling, bloodshot, and glazed with death, braces himself on his 
legs, swaying from side to side, stamps impatiently at his grow- 
ing weakness, or lifts his rugged and matted head and helplessly 
bellows out his conscious impotence. To the last, however, he 
endeavours to stand upright, and plants his limbs farther apart, 
but to no purpose. As the body rolls like a ship at sea, his head 
slowly turns from side to side, looking about, as it were, for the 
unseen and treacherous enemy who has brought him, the lord of 
the plains, to such a pass. Gouts of purple blood spurt from his 
mouth and nostrils, and gradually the failing limbs refuse longer 
to support the ponderous carcase ; more heavily rolls the body 
from side to side, until suddenly, for a brief instant, it becomes 
rigid and still ; a convulsive tremor seizes it, and, with a low, 
sobbing gasp, the huge animal falls over on his side, the limbs 
extended stark and stiff, and the mountain of flesh without life or 
motion. 

The first attempts of a " greenhorn " to kill a buffalo are in- 
variably unsuccessful. He sees before him a mass of flesh, nearly 
five feet in depth from the top of the hump to the brisket, and 
consequently imagines that, by planting his ball midway between 
these points, it must surely reach the vitals. Nothing, however, 
is more erroneous than the impression ; for to " throw a buffalo 



chap, xxix.] DEATH OF A BULL— HARD TO KILL. 



269 



in his tracks," which is the phrase for making a clean shot, he 
must be struck but a few inches above the brisket, behind the 
shoulder, where alone, unless the spine be divided, a death-shot 
will reach the vitals. I once shot a bull, the ball passing di- 
rectly through the very centre of the heart and tearing a hole 
sufficiently large to insert the finger, which ran upwards of half 
a mile before it fell, and yet the ball had passed completely 
through the animal, cutting its heart almost in two. I also saw 
eighteen shots, the half of them muskets, deliberately fired into 
an old bull, at six paces, and some of them passing through the 
body, the poor animal standing the whole time, and making 
feeble attempts to charge. The nineteenth shot, with the muzzle 
touching his body, brought him to the ground. The head of the 
buffalo- bull is so thickly covered with coarse matted hair, that a 
ball fired at half a dozen paces will not penetrate the skull 
through the shaggy frontlock. I have frequently attempted this 
with a rifle carrying twenty -five bails to the pound, but never 
once succeeded. 

Notwithstanding the great and wanton destruction of the buf- 
falo, many years must elapse before this lordly animal becomes 
extinct. In spite of their numerous enemies, they still exist in 
countless numbers, and, could any steps be taken to protect them, 
as is done in respect of other game, they would ever remain the 
life and ornament of the boundless prairies, and afford ample and 
never-failing provision to the travellers over these otherwise 
desert plains. Some idea of the prodigious slaughter of these 
animals may be formed, by mentioning the fact that upwards of 
one hundred thousand buffalo robes find their way annually into 
the United States and Canada ; and these are the skins of cows 
alone, the bull's hide being so thick that it is never dressed. Be- 
sides this, the Indians kill a certain number for their own use, 
exclusive of those whose meat they require ; and the reckless 
slaughter of buffalo by parties of white men, emigrants to the 
Columbia, California, and elsewhere, leaving, as they proceed 
on their journey, thousands of untouched carcases on the trail, 
swells the aggregate of this wholesale destruction to an enormous 
amount. 



270 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxx. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

Grizzly Bears — Their Ferocity — John Glass's Scrape — The Dead Alive — 
Rube Herring and the Lost Trap — Trapping a Bar — Bear and Squaws — 
The Bighorn — Killing a Sheep — Pets — Elk — Antelope — The Carcagieu 
— Mountain Wolves — Solitary Hunter — Mountain Camp. 

The grizzly bear is the fiercest of the ferae naturae of the moun- 
tains. His great strength and wonderful tenacity of life render 
an encounter with him anything but desirable, and therefore it 
is a rule with the Indians and white hunters never to attack 
him unless backed by a strong party. Although, like every 
other wild animal, he usually flees from man, yet at certain sea- 
sons, when maddened by love or hunger, he not unfrequently 
charges at first sight of a foe ; when, unless killed dead, a hug at 
close quarters is anything but a pleasant embrace, his strong 
hooked claws stripping the flesh from the bones as easily as a 
cook peels an onion. Many are the tales of bloody encounters 
with these animals which the trappers delight to recount to the 
" greenhorn," to enforce their caution as to the fool-hardiness 
of ever attacking the grizzly bear. 

Some years ago a trapping party was on their way to the 
mountains, led, I believe, by old Sublette, a well-known captain 
of the West. Amongst the band was one John Glass, a trapper 
who had been all his life in the mountains, and had seen, proba- 
bly, more exciting adventures, and had had more wonderful and 
hairbreadth escapes, than any of the rough and hardy fellows 
who make the West their home, and whose lives are spent in a 
succession of perils and privations. On one of the streams 
running from the " Black Hills," a range of mountains north- 
ward of the Platte, Glass and a companion were one day 
setting their traps, when, on passing through a cherry-thicket 
which skirted the stream, the former, who was in advance, de- 
scried a large grizzly bear quietly turning up the turf with his 
nose, searching for yampa-roots or pig-nuts, which there abounded. 
Glass immediately called his companion, and both, proceeding 



chap, xxx.] JOHN GLASS'S SCRAPE. 271 

cautiously, crept to the skirt of the thicket, and, taking steady- 
aim at the animal, whose broadside was fairly exposed at the dis- 
tance of twenty yards, discharged their rifles at the same instant, 
both balls taking effect, but not inflicting a mortal wound. The 
bear, giving a groan of pain, jumped with all four legs from the 
ground, and, seeing the wreaths of smoke hanging at the edge of 
the brush, charged at once in that direction, snorting with pain 
and fury. 

" Hurraw, Bill !" roared out Glass, as he saw the animal rush- 
ing towards them, " we '11 be made ' meat ' of as sure as shootin' !" 
and, leaving the tree behind which he had concealed himself, he 
bolted through the thicket, followed closely by his companion. 
The brush was so thick, that they could scarcely make their w r ay 
through, whereas the weight and strength of the bear carried 
him through all obstructions, and he was soon close upon them. 

About a hundred yards from the thicket was a steep bluff, and 
between these points was a level piece of prairie ; Glass saw that 
his only chance was to reach this bluff, and, shouting to his com- 
panion to make for it, they both broke from the cover and flew 
like lightning across the open space. When more than half 
way across, the bear being about fifty yards behind them, Glass, 
who w r as leading, tripped over a stone, and fell to the ground, 
and just as he rose to his feet, the beast, rising on his hind feet, 
confronted him. As he closed, Glass, never losing his presence 
of mind, cried to his companion to load up quickly, and dis- 
charged his pistol full into the body of the animal, at the same 
moment that the bear, with blood streaming from its nose and 
mouth, knocked the pistol from his hand with one blow of its 
paw, and, fixing its claws deep into his flesh, rolled with him to 
the ground. 

The hunter, notwithstanding his hopeless situation, struggled 
manfully, drawing his knife and plunging it several times into 
the body of the beast, which, furious with pain, tore with tooth 
and claw the body of the w r retched victim, actually baring the 
ribs of flesh, and exposing the very bones. Weak with loss of 
blood, and with eyes blinded with the blood which streamed from 
his lacerated scalp, the knife at length fell from his hand, and 
Glass sank down insensible, and to all appearance dead. 

His companion, who, up to this moment, had watched the 



272 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxx 

conflict, which, however, lasted but a few seconds, thinking that 
his turn would come next, and not having had presence of mind 
even to load his rifle, fled with might and main back to camp, 
where he narrated the miserable fate of poor Glass. The cap- 
tain of the band of trappers, however, despatched the man with 
a companion back to the spot where he lay, with instructions to 
remain by him if still alive, or to bury him if, as all supposed he 
was, defunct, promising them at the same time a sum of money 
for so doing. 

On reaching the spot, which was red with blood, they found 
Glass still breathing, and the bear, dead and stiff, actually lying 
upon his body. Poor Glass presented a horrifying spectacle : 
the flesh was torn in strips from his chest and limbs, and large 
flaps strewed the ground ; his scalp hung bleeding over his face, 
which was also lacerated in a shocking manner. 

The bear, besides the three bullets which had pierced its body, 
bore the marks of the fierce nature of Glass's final struggle, no 
less than twenty gaping wounds in the breast and belly testifying 
to the gallant defence of the mountaineer. 

Imagining that, if not already dead, the poor fellow could not 
possibly survive more than a few moments, the men collected his 
arms, stripped him even of his hunting-shirt and mocassins, and, 
merely pulling the dead bear off the body, mounted their horses, 
and slowly followed the remainder of the party, saying, when they 
reached it, that Glass was dead, as probably they thought, and 
that they had buried him. 

In a few days the gloom which pervaded the trappers' camp, 
occasioned by the loss of a favourite companion, disappeared, 
and Glass's misfortune, although frequently mentioned over the 
camp-fire, at length w T as almost entirely forgotten in the excite- 
ment of the hunt and Indian perils which surrounded them. 

Months elapsed, the hunt was over, and the party of trappers 
were on their way to the trading- fort with their packs of beaver. 
It was nearly sundown, and the round adobe bastions of the 
mud-built fort were just in sight, when a horseman was seen 
slowly approaching them along the banks of the river. When 
near enough to discern his figure, they saw a lank cadaverous 
form with a face so scarred and disfigured that scarcely a feature 
was discernible. Approaching the leading horsemen, one of 



chap, xxx.] THE DEAD ALIVE— OLD RUBE. 273 

whom happened to be the companion of the defunct Glass in his 
memorable bear scrape, the stranger, in a hollow voice, reining 
in his horse before them, exclaimed, " Hurraw, Bill, my boy ! 
you thought I was ' gone under ' that time, did you ? but hand 
me over my horse and gun, my lad ; I ain't dead yet by a dam 
sight !" 

What was the astonishment of the whole party, and the genuine 
horror of Bill and his worthy companion in the burial story, to 
hear the well-known, though now much altered, voice of John 
Glass, who had been killed by a grizzly bear months before, and 
comfortably interred, as the two men had reported, and all had 
believed ! 

There he was, however, and no mistake about it ; and all 
crowded round to hear from his lips, how, after the lapse of he 
knew not how long, he had gradually recovered, and being without 
arms, or even a butcher-knife, he had fed upon the almost putrid 
carcase of the bear for several days, until he had regained suffi- 
cient strength to crawl, when, tearing off as much of the bear's- 
meat as he could carry in his enfeebled state, he crept down 
the river; and suffering excessive torture from his wounds, and 
hunger, and cold, he made the best of his way to the fort, which 
was some eighty or ninety miles from the place of his encounter 
with the bear, and, living the greater part of the way upon roots 
and berries, he after many, many days, arrived in a pitiable state, 
from which he had now recovered, and was, to use his own ex- 
pression, " as slick as a peeled onion." 

A trapper on Arkansa, named Valentine Herring, but better 
known as " Old Rube," told me that once, when visiting his 
traps one morning on a stream beyond the mountains, he 
found one missing, at the same time that he discovered fresh 
bear " sign" about the banks. Proceeding down the river in search 
of the lost trap, he heard the noise of some large body breaking 
through the thicket of plum-bushes which belted the stream. 
Ensconcing himself behind a rock, he presently observed a huge 
grizzly bear emerge from the bush and limp on three legs to a 
flat rock, which he mounted, and then, quietly seating himself, he 
raised one of his fore paws, on which Rube, to his amazement, 
discovered his trap tight and fast. 

The bear, lifting his iron-gloved foot close to his face, gravely 



274 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxx. 

examined it, turning his paw round and round, and quaintly 
bending his head from side to side, looking at the trap from the 
corners of his eyes, and with an air of mystery and puzzled 
curiosity, for he evidently could not make out what the novel 
and painful appendage could be ; and every now and then smelt 
it and tapped it lightly on the rock. This, however, only pain- 
ing the animal the more, he would lick the trap, as if deprecating 
its anger, and wishing to conciliate it. 

After watching these curious antics for some time, as the bear 
seemed inclined to resume his travels, Rube, to regain his trap, 
was necessitated to bring the bear's cogitations to a close, and, 
levelling his rifle, shot him dead, cutting off his paw and return- 
ing with it to camp, where the trappers were highly amused at 
the idea of trapping a b'ar. 

Near the same spot where Glass encountered his iC scrape," some 
score of Sioux squaws were one day engaged in gathering cherries 
in a thicket near their village, and had already nearly filled their 
baskets, when a bear suddenly appeared in the midst, and, with a 
savage growl, charged amongst them. Away ran the terrified 
squaws, yelling and shrieking, out of the shrubbery, nor stopped 
until safely ensconced within their lodges. Bruin, however, pre- 
ferring fruit to meat, albeit of tender squaws, after routing the 
petticoats, quietly betook himself to the baskets, which he 
quickly emptied, and then quietly retired. 

Bears are exceedingly fond of plums and cherries, and a 
thicket of this fruit in the vicinity of the mountains is, at the 
season when they are ripe, a sure " find " for Mr. Bruin. When 
they can get fruit they prefer such food to meat, but are, never- 
theless, carnivorous animals. 

The game, par excellence, of the Rocky Mountains, and that 
which takes precedence in a comestible point of view, is the 
carnero cimmaron of the Mexicans, the Bighorn or Moun- 
tain sheep of the Canadian hunters. This animal, which par- 
takes both of the nature of the deer and goat, resembles the 
latter more particularly in its habits, and its characteristic liking 
to lofty, inaccessible points of the mountains, whence it seldom 
descends to the upland valleys excepting in very severe weather. 
In size the mountain -sheep is between the domestic animal and 
the common red deer of America, but more strongly made than 



chap, xxx.] THE BIGHORN. 275 

the latter. Its colour is a brownish dun (the hair being tipped 
with a darker tinge as the animal's age increases), with a whitish 
streak on the hind quarters, the tail being shorter than a deer's, 
and tipped with black. The horns of the male are enormous, 
curved backwards, and often three feet in length with a circum- 
ference of twenty inches near the head. The hunters assert that, 
in descending the precipitous sides of the mountains, the sheep 
frequently leap from a height of twenty or thirty feet, in- 
variably alighting on their horns, and thereby saving their bones 
from certain dislocation. 

They are even more acute in the organs of sight and smell 
than the deer ; and as they love to resort to the highest and most 
inaccessible spots, whence a view can readily be had of approach- 
ing danger, and particularly as one of the band is always stationed 
on the most commanding pinnacle of rock as sentinel, whilst the 
others are feeding, it is no easy matter to get within rifle-shot of 
the cautious animals. When alarmed they ascend still higher 
up the mountain : halting now and then on some overhanging 
crag, and looking down at the object which may have frightened 
them, they again commence their ascent, leaping from point to 
point, and throwing down an avalanche of rocks and stones as 
they bound up the steep sides of the mountain. They are 
generally very abundant in all parts of the main chain of the 
Rocky Mountains, but particularly so in the vicinity of the 
" Parks " and the Bayou Salado, as well as in the range between 
the upper waters of the Del Norte and Arkansa, called the 
" Wet Mountain " by the trappers. On the Sierra Madre, or 
Cordillera of New Mexico and Chihuahua, they are also nu- 
merous. 

The first mountain-sheep I killed, I got within shot of in 
rather a curious manner. I had undertaken several unsuccess- 
ful hunts for the purpose of procuring a pair of horns of this 
animal, as well as some skins, which are of excellent quality 
when dressed, but had almost given up any hope of approaching 
them, when one day, having killed and butchered a black-tail 
deer in the mountains, I sat down with my back to a small rock 
and fell asleep. On awaking, feeling inclined for a smoke, I 
drew from my pouch a pipe, and flint and steel, and began lei- 
surely to cut a charge of tobacco. Whilst thus engaged I 

t2 



276 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxx. 

became sensible of a peculiar odour which was wafted right into 
my face by the breeze, and which, on snuffing it once or twice, 
I immediately recognised as that which emanates from sheep and 
goats. Still I never thought that' one of the former animals 
could be in the neighbourhood, for my mule was picketed on 
the little plateau where I sat, and was leisurely cropping the 
buffalo-grass which thickly covered it. 

Looking up carelessly from my work, as a whiff stronger than 
before reached my nose, what was my astonishment at seeing five 
mountain-sheep within ten paces, and regarding me with a curious 
and astonished gaze ! Without drawing a breath, I put out my 
hand and grasped the rifle, which was lying within reach ; but the 
motion, slight as it was, sufficed to alarm them, and with a loud 
bleat the old ram bounded up the mountain, followed by the band, 
and at so rapid a pace that all my attempts to " draw a bead " 
upon them were ineffectual. When, however, they reached a little 
plateau about one hundred and fifty yards from where I stood, 
they suddenly stopped, and, approaching the edge, looked down 
at me, shaking their heads, and bleating their displeasure at the 
intrusion. No sooner did I see them stop than my rifle was at 
my shoulder, and covering the broadside of the one nearest to me. 
An instant after and I pulled the trigger, and at the report the 
sheep jumped convulsively from the rock, and made one attempt 
to follow its flying companions ; but its strength failed, and, 
circling round once or twice at the edge of the plateau, it fell 
over on its side, and, rolling down the steep rock, tumbled dead 
very near me. My prize proved a very fine young male, but had 
not a large pair of horns. It was, however, " seal " fat, and 
afforded me a choice supply of meat, which was certainly the 
best I had eaten in the mountains, being fat and juicy, and in 
flavour somewhat partaking both of the domestic sheep and 
buffalo. 

Several attempts have been made to secure the young of these 
animals and transport them to the States ; and, for this purpose, 
an old mountaineer, one Billy Williams, took with him a troop 
of milch-goats, by which to bring up the young sheep ; but 
although he managed to take several fine lambs, I believe that he 
did not succeed in reaching the frontier with one living specimen 
out of some half-score. The hunters frequently rear them in the 



chap, xxx.] ELK— ANTELOPE. 277 

mountains ; and they become greatly attached to their masters, 
enlivening the camp with their merry gambols. 

The elk, in point of size, ranks next to the buffalo. It is 
found in all parts of the mountains, and descends not unfrequently 
far down into the plains in the vicinity of the larger streams. 
A full-grown elk is as large as a mule, with rather a heavy neck 
and body, and stout limbs, its feet leaving a track as large as that 
of a two-year-old steer. They are dull, sluggish animals, at least 
in comparison with others of the deer tribe, and are easily ap- 
proached and killed. In winter they congregate in large herds, 
often numbering several hundreds ; and at that season are fond 
of travelling, their track through the snow having the appearance 
of a broad beaten road. The elk requires less killing than any 
other of the deer tribe (whose tenacity of life is remarkable) ; a shot 
anywhere in the fore part of the animal brings it to the ground. 
On one occasion I killed two with one ball, which passed through 
the neck of the first, and struck the second, which was standing 
a few paces distant, through the heart : both fell dead. A deer, 
on the contrary, often runs a considerable distance, strike it where 
you will. The meat of the elk is strong flavoured, and more like 
" poor bull " than venison : it is only eatable when the animal is 
fat and in good condition ; at other times it is strong tasted 
and stringy. 

The antelope, the smallest of the deer tribe, affords the hunter 
a sweet and nutritious meat, when that of nearly every other 
description of game, from the poorness and scarcity of the grass 
during the winter, is barely eatable. They are seldom seen now 
in very large bands on the grand prairies, having been driven 
from their old pastures by the Indians and white hunters. The 
former, by means of " surrounds," an enclosed space formed in 
one of the passes used by these animals, very often drive into the 
toils an entire band of antelope of several hundreds, when not 
one escapes slaughter. 

I have seen them on the western sides of the mountains, and in 
the mountain valleys, in herds of several thousands. They are 
exceedingly timid animals, but at the same time wonderfully 
curious ; and their curiosity very often proves their death, for 
the hunter, taking advantage of this weakness, plants his wiping- 
stick in the ground, with a cap or red handkerchief on the pointj 



278 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxx. 

and, concealing himself in the long grass, waits, rifle in hand, the 
approach of the inquisitive antelope, who, seeing an unusual object 
in the plain, trots up to it, and, coming within range of the deadlv 
tube, pays dearly for his temerity. An antelope, when alone, 
is one of the stupidest of beasts, and becomes so confused and 
frightened at sight of a travelling party, that it frequently runs 
right into the midst of the danger it seeks to avoid. 

I had heard most wonderful accounts from the trappers of an 
animal, the existence of which was beyond all doubt, which, 
although exceedingly rare, was occasionally met with in the 
mountains, but, from its supposed dangerous ferocity, and the 
fact of its being a cross between the devil and a bear, was never 
molested by the Indians or white hunters, and a wide berth given 
whenever the animal made its dreaded appearance. Most won- 
derful stories were told of its audacity and fearlessness ; how it 
sometimes jumps from an overhanging rock on a deer or buffalo, 
and, fastening on its neck, soon brings it to the ground ; how it 
has been known to leap upon a hunter when passing near its place 
of concealment, and devour him in a twinkling — often charging 
furiously into a camp, and playing all sorts of pranks on the 
goods and chattels of the mountaineers. The general belief was 
that the animal owes its paternity to the old gentleman himself; 
but the most reasonable declare it to be a cross between the bear 
and wolf. 

Hunting one day with an old Canadian trapper, he told me 
that, in a part of the mountains which we were about to visit on 
the morrow, he once had a battle with a " carcagieu," which lasted 
upwards of two hours, during which he fired a pouchful of balls 
into the animal's body, which spat them out as fast as they were 
shot in. To the truth of this probable story he called all the 
saints to bear witness. 

Two days after, as we were toiling up a steep ridge after a 
band of mountain-sheep, my companion, who was in advance, 
suddenly threw himself flat behind a rock, and exclaimed in a 
smothered tone, signalling me with his hand to keep down and 
conceal myself, " Sacre enfant de Garce, mais here 's von dam 
carcagieu !" 

I immediately cocked my rifle, and, advancing to the rock, and 
peeping over it, saw an animal, about the size of a large badger, 



chap, xxx.] THE CARCAGIEU. 279 



en^a^ed in scraping up the earth about a dozen paces from where 
we were concealed. Its colour was dark, almost black ; its body 
lon°-, and apparently tailless ; and I at once recognised the mys- 
terious beast to be a '* glutton." After I had sufficiently examined 
the animal, I raised my rifle to shoot, when a louder than common 
w Enfant de Garce " from my companion alarmed the animal, and 
it immediately ran off, when I stood up and fired both barrels after 
it, but without effect ; the attempt exciting a derisive laugh from 
the Canadian, who exclaimed, " Pe gar, may be you got fifty balls ; 
vel, shoot 'em all at de dam carcagieu, and he uot care a dam !" 
The skins of these animals are considered ** great medicine " 
by the Indians, and will fetch almost any price. They are very 
rarely met with on the plains, preferring the upland valleys and 
broken ground of the mountains, which afford them a better field 
for their method of securing game, which is by lying in wait 
behind a rock, or on the steep bank of a ravine, concealed by a 
tree or shrub, until a deer or antelope passes underneath, when 
they spring upon the animal's back, and, holding on with their 
strong and sharp claws, which they bury in the flesh, soon bring 
it bleeding to the ground. The Indians say they are purely 
carnivorous ; but I imagine that, like the bear, they not unfre- 
quently eat fruit and roots, when animal food is not to be had. 

I have said that the mountain wolves, and, still more so, the 

coyote of the plains, are less frightened at the sight of man than 

any other beast. One night, when encamped on an affluent of 

the Platte, a heavy snow-storm falling at the time, I lay down 

in my blanket, after first heaping on the fire a vast pile of wood, 

to burn till morning. In the middle of the night I was awakened 

by the excessive cold, and, turning towards the fire, which was 

burning bright and cheerfully, what was my astonishment to see 

a large grey wolf sitting quietly before it, his eyes closed, and 

his head nodding in sheer drowsiness ! Although I had frequently 

seen wolves evince their disregard to fires, by coming within a 

few feet of them to seize upon any scraps of meat which might 

be left exposed, I had never seen or heard of one approaching so 

close as to warm his body, and for that purpose alone. However, 

I looked at him for some moments without disturbing the beast, 

and closed my eyes and went to sleep, leaving him to the quiet 

enjoyment of the blaze. 



280 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. l chap. xxx. 

This is not very wonderful when 1 mention that it is a very 
common thing for these animals to gnaw the straps of a saddle 
on which your head is reposing for a pillow. 

When I turned my horse's head from Pike's Peak I quite 
regretted the abandonment of my mountain life, solitary as it 
was, and more than once thought of again taking the trail to the 
Bayou Salado, where I had enjoyed such good sport. 

Apart from the feeling of loneliness which any one in my 
situation must naturally have experienced, surrounded by stu- 
pendous works of nature, which in all their solitary grandeur 
frowned upon me^ and sinking into utter insignificance the 
miserable mortal who crept beneath their shadow ; still there was 
something inexpressibly exhilarating in the sensation of positive 
freedom from all worldly care, and a consequent expansion of the 
sinews, as it were, of mind and body, which made me feel elastic 
as a ball of Indian rubber, and in a state of such perfect insou- 
ciance that no more dread of scalping Indians entered my mind 
than if I had been sitting in Broadway, in one of the windows 
of Astor House. A citizen of the world, I never found any 
difficulty in investing my resting-place, wherever it might be, 
with all the attributes of a home ; and hailed, with delight equal 
to that which the artificial comforts of a civilized home would 
have caused, the, to me, domestic appearance of my hobbled ani- 
mals, as they grazed around the camp, when I returned after a hard 
day's hunt. By the way, I may here remark that my sporting feel- 
ing underwent a great change when I was necessitated to follow 
and kill game for the support of life, and as a means of subsistence ; 
and the slaughter of deer and buffalo no longer became sport 
when the object was to fill the larder, and the excitement of the 
hunt was occasioned by the alternative of a plentiful feast or a 
banyan ; and, although ranking under the head of the most red- 
hot of sportsmen, I can safely acquit myself of ever wantonly de- 
stroying a deer or buffalo unless I was in need of meat ; and such 
consideration for the ferae naturae is common to all the moun- 
taineers who look to game alone for their support. Although 
liable to an accusation of barbarism, I must confess that the very 
happiest moments of my life have been spent in the wilderness 
of the far West ; and I never recall but with pleasure the re- 
membrance of my solitary camp in the Bayou Salado, with no 



chap, xxx.] A HUNTER'S CAMP. 

friend near me more faithful than my rifle, and no companions 
more sociable than my good horse and mules, or the attendant 
coyote which nightly serenaded us. With a plentiful supply of 
dry pine-logs on the fire, and its cheerful blaze streaming far up 
into the sky, illuminating the valley far and near, and exhibiting 
the animals, with well-filled bellies, standing contentedly at rest 
over their picket-pins, I would sit cross-legged enjoying the 
genial warmth, and, pipe in mouth, watch the blue smoke as it 
curled upwards, building castles in its vapoury wreaths, and, in 
the fantastic shapes it assumed, peopling the solitude with figures 
of those far away. Scarcely, however, did I ever wish to change 
such hours of freedom for all the luxuries of civilized life, and, 
unnatural and extraordinary as it may appear, yet such is the 
fascination of the life of the mountain hunter, that I believe 
not one instance could be adduced of even the most polished 
and civilized of men, who had once tasted the sweets of its 
attendant liberty and freedom from every worldly care, not re- 
gretting the moment when he exchanged it for the monotonous 
life of the settlements, nor sighing, and sighing again, once more 
to partake of its pleasures and allurements. 

Nothing can be more social and cheering than the welcome 
blaze of the camp fire on a cold winter's night, and nothing more 
amusing or entertaining, if not instructive, than the rough con- 
versation of the single-minded mountaineers, whose simple daily 
talk is all of exciting adventure, since their whole existence is spent 
in scenes of peril and privation; and consequently the narration 
of their every-day life is a tale of thrilling accidents and hair- 
breadth 'scapes, which, though simple matter-of-fact to them, ap- 
pear a startling romance to those who are not acquainted with 
the nature of the lives led by these men, who, with the sky for a 
roof and their rifles to supply them with food and clothing, call 
no man lord or master, and are free as the game they follow. 

A hunter's camp in the Eocky Mountains is quite a picture. 
He does not always take the trouble to build any shelter unless 
it is in the snow-season, when a couple of deerskins stretched 
over a willow frame shelter him from the storm. At other 
seasons he is content with a mere breakwind. Near at hand are 
two upright poles, with another supported on the top of these, 
on which is displayed, out of reach of hungry wolf or coyote, 



282 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxx. 

meat of every variety the mountains afford. Buffalo depouilles, 
hams of deer and mountain- sheep, beaver-tails, &c, stock the 
larder. Under the shelter of the skins hang his powder-horn and 
bullet-pouch ; while his rifle, carefully defended from the damp, 
is always within reach of his arm. Round the blazing fire the 
hunters congregate at night, and whilst cleaning their rifles, 
making or mending mocassins, or running bullets, spin long 
yarns of their hunting exploits, &c. 

Some hunters, who have married Indian squaws, carry about 
with them the Indian lodge of buffalo-skins, which are stretched 
in a conical form round a frame of poles. Near the camp is 
always seen the " graining-block," a log of wood with the bark 
stripped and perfectly smooth, which is planted obliquely in 
the ground, and on which the hair is removed from the skins to 
prepare them for being dressed. There are also " stretching- 
frames," on which the skins are placed to undergo the process 
of dubbing, which is the removal of the flesh and fatty particles 
adhering to the skin, by means of the dubber, an instrument made 
of the stock of an elk's horn. The last process is the " smoking," 
which is effected by digging a round hole in the ground and 
lighting in it an armful of rotten wood or punk. Three sticks 
are then planted round the hole, and their tops brought together 
and tied. The skin is then placed on this frame, and all the 
holes by which the smoke might escape carefully stopped : in ten 
or twelve hours the skin is thoroughly smoked and ready for 
immediate use. 

The camp is invariably made in a picturesque locality, for, 
like the Indian, the white hunter has ever an eye to the beauti- 
ful. The broken ground of the mountains, with their numerous 
tumbling and babbling rivulets, and groves and thickets of 
shrubs and timber, always afford shelter from the boisterous 
winds of winter, and abundance of fuel and water. Facing the 
rising sun the hunter invariably erects his shanty, with a wall 
of precipitous rock in rear to defend it from the gusts which 
often sweep down the gorges of the mountains. Round the camp 
his animals, well hobbled at night, feed within sight, for nothing 
does a hunter dread more than a visit from the horse-stealing 
Indians; and to be "afoot" is the acme of his misery. 



chap, xxxi.] RETURN TO ARKANSA. 283 



CHAPTER XXXI. 



Return to Arkansa — Ladies of the Fort — Delawares — Big Nigger — Mexi- 
can Captive — Captive Negro — Preparations for a Start— Salubrity of 
Mountain Climate — Effects on Consumptive Patients — " Possibles " over- 
hauled — Kit repaired — Hunting up the Animals — Their Wildness. 

When I returned to the Arkansa I found a small party were 
making preparations to cross the grand prairie to the United 
States, intending to start on the 1st of May, before which time 
there would not be a sufficiency of grass to support the animals 
on the way. With these men I determined to travel, and in the 
mean time employed myself in hunting on the " Wet Mountain," 
and Fisher's Hole, a valley at the head of St. Charles, as well 
as up the Arkansa itself. I observed in these excursions that 
vegetation was in a much more forward state in the mountain 
valleys and the prairies contiguous to their bases than on the 
open plains, and that in the vicinity of the " pueblo " it was 
still more backward than in any other spot; on the 15th of 
April not a blade of green grass having as yet made its ap- 
pearance round the fort. This was not from the effects of 
drought, for several refreshing showers had fallen since the dis- 
appearance of the snow ; neither was there any apparent difference 
in the soil, which is a rich loam, and in the river-bottom, an 
equally rich vegetable mould. At this time, when the young 
grass had not yet appeared here, it was several inches high on 
the mountains and upland prairies, and the cherry and currant 
bushes on the creeks were bursting into leaf. 

Amongst the wives of the mountaineers in the fort was one 
Mexican woman from the state of Durango, who had been 
carried off by the Comanches in one of their raids into that de- 
partment. Remaining with them several years, she eventually 
accompanied a party of Kioways (allies of the Comanche) to 
Bent's Fort on the Arkansa. Here she was purchased from them 



2S4 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxxl 

and became the wife of Hawkens, who afterwards removed from 
Bent's and took up his abode at the " pueblo," and was my hos- 
pitable host while on the Arkansa. It appeared that her 
Mexican husband, by some means or another, heard that she 
had reached Bent's Fort, and, impelled by affection, undertook 
the ]ong journey of upwards of fifteen hundred miles to recover 
his lost wife. In the mean time, however, she had borne her 
American husband a daughter, and when her first spouse claimed 
her as his own, and wished her to accompany him back to her 
own country, she only consented on condition that she might 
carry with her the child, from which she steadily refused to be 
separated. The father, however, turned a deaf ear to this re- 
quest, and eventually the poor Durangueno returned to his home 
alone, his spouse preferring to share the buffalo-rib and venison 
with her mountaineer before the frijole and chile Colorado of the 
bereaved ranchero. 

Three or four Taos women, and as many squaws of every 
nation, comprised the " female society " on the Upper Arkansa, 
giving good promise of peopling the river with a sturdy race of 
half-breeds, if all the little dusky buffalo- fed urchins who played 
about the corral of the fort arrived scathless at maturity. 

Amongst the hunters on the Upper Arkansa were four Dela- 
ware Indians, the remnant of a band who had been trapping for 
several years in the mountains, and many of whom had been 
killed by hostile Indians, or in warfare with the Apaches while 
in the employ of the states of New Mexico and Chihuahua. 
Their names were Jim Dicky, Jim Swannick, Little Beaver, and 
Big Nigger. The last had married a squaw from the Taos 
pueblo, and, happening to be in New Mexico with his spouse at 
the time of the late rising against the Americans, he very 
naturally took part with the people by whom he had been 
adopted. 

In the attack on the Indian pueblo it was said that Big 
Nigger particularly distinguished himself, calling by name to 
several of the mountain -men who were amongst the attacking 
party, and inviting them to come near enough for him, the Big 
Nigger, to " throw them in their tracks.' ' And this feat he 
effected more than once, to the cost of the assailants, for it was 
said that the Delaware killed nearly all who fell on the side of 



chap, xxxi.] MEXICAN CAPTIVE. 235 

the Americans, his squaw loading his rifle and encouraging him 
in the fight. 

By some means or another he escaped after the capture of the 
pueblo, and made his way to the mountains on the Arkansa ; 
but as it was reported that a price was put upon his head, he 
retired in company with the other Delawares to the mountains, 
where they all lay " perdus " for a time ; and it was pretty well 
understood that any one feeling inclined to reap the reward by 
the capture of Big Nigger, would be under the necessity of 
" taking him," and with every probability of catching a Tartar 
at the same time, the three other Delawares having taken the 
delinquent under the protection of their rifles. Although com- 
panions of the American and Canadian hunters for many years, 
anything but an entente cordiale existed towards their white con- 
freres on the part of the Delawares, who knew very well that 
anything in the shape of Indian blood is looked upon with dis- 
trust and contempt by the white hunters. 

Tharpe, an Indian trader, who had just returned from the 
Cheyenne village at the " Big Timber" on the Arkansa, had 
purchased from some Kioways two prisoners, a Mexican and an 
American negro. The former had been carried oif by the Co- 
manche from Durango when about seven years old, had almost 
entirely forgotten his own tongue, and neither knew his own age 
nor what length of time he had been a captive amongst the Indians. 
The degraded and miserable existence led by this poor creature 
had almost obliterated all traces of humanity from his character 
and appearance. Probably not more than twenty-five years of 
age, he was already wrinkled and haggard in his face, which was 
that of a man of threescore years. Wrapped in a dirty blanket, 
with his long hair streaming over his shoulders, he skulked, like 
some savage animal, in holes and corners of the fort, seeming to 
shun his fellow-men, in a consciousness of his abject and degraded 
condition. At night he would be seen with his face close to the 
rough doors of the rooms, peering through the cracks, and 
envying the (to him) unusual luxury v>ithin. When he observed 
any one approach the door, he instantly withdrew and con- 
cealed himself in the darkness until he passed. A present of 
tobacco, now and then, won for me the confidence of the poor 



286 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxxl 



fellow, and I gathered from him, in broken Spanish mixed with 
Indian, an account of his miseries. 

I sat with him one night on a log in the corral, as he strove to 
make me understand that once, long, long ago, he had been 
" muy rieo" — very rich ; that he lived in a house where was always 
a fire like that burning within, and where he used to sit on his 
mother's lap ; and this fact he repeated over and over again, 
thinking that to show that once affectionate regard had been be- 
stowed upon him, was to prove that he had been at one time an 
important personage. " Me quiso mucho, mucho," he said, speak- 
ing of his mother — " she loved me very, very much ; and I had 
good clothes and plenty to eat ; but that was many, many moons 



ago. 



"Mire/' he continued, "from this size," putting his hand 
out about three feet from the ground — " ni padre, ni madre, 
ni amigos he tenido yo/' — neither father, mother, nor friends 
have I had ; "pero patadas, bastante" — but plenty of kicks, 
" y poca came"— said very little meat. 

I asked him if he had no wish to return to his own country. 
His haggard face lighted up for an instant, as the dim memory 
of his childhood's home returned to his callous mind. "Ay, 
Dios mio ! " he exclaimed, " si fuera posible" — Ah, my God, if 
it were possible ! " but no," he continued after a pause, "estoy 
ahora muy bruto, y asi no me quadrara a ver mi madre" — I am 
now no more than a brute, and in this state would not like to see 
my mother. " Y de mas" — and moreover — " my compadre," as 
he called the man who had purchased him, " is going to give me 
a shirt and a sombrero ; what can I want more ? Vaya, es mejor 
asi " — it is better as it is. One night he accosted me in the 
corral in an unusual degree of excitement. 

" Mire !" he exclaimed, seizing me by the arm, " look here ! 
estoy boracho " — I am drunk ! " Me dio mi compadre un 
pedazo de aguardiente" — my godfather has given me a bit of 
brandy. " Y estoy tan feliz, y ligero ! como paxaro, como 
pa-x-ar-o " — he hiccuped — and I am as happy and as light as a 
bird. " Me vuelo " — I am flying. " Me dicen que estoy 
boracho : ay que palabra bonita !" — they tell me I am drunk : 
drunk — what a beautiful word is this ! " En mi vida, nunca he 



ceap. xxxi.] CAPTIVE NEGRO— PREPARE TO START. 287 

sentido como ahora " — never in my life have I felt as I do now. 
And the poor wretch covered his head with a blanket, and 
laughed long and loud at the trick he had played his old friend 
misery. 

The negro, on the contrary, was a characteristic specimen of 
his race, always laughing, singing, and dancing, and cutting un- 
couth capers. He had been a slave in the semi-civilized 
Cherokee nation, and had been captured by the Comanches, as 
he himself declared, but most probably had run away from his 
master, and joined them voluntarily. He was a musician, and of 
course could play the fiddle ; and having discovered an old 
weather-beaten instrument in the fort, Lucy ISieal, Old Dan 
Tucker, and Buffalo Gals, were heard at all hours of the day 
and night ; and he was, moreover, installed into the Weippert of 
the fandangos which frequently took place in the fort, when the 
hunters with their squaws were at the rendezvous. 

Towards the latter end of April green grass began to show 
itself in the bottoms, and myself and two others, who had been 
wintering in the mountains for the benefit of their health, made 
preparations for our departure to the United States. Pack- 
saddles were inspected and repaired, apishamores made, lariats 
and lassos greased and stretched, mules and horses collected 
from their feeding-grounds, and their fore feet shod. A small 
supply of meat was " made " (i. e. cut into thin flaps and dried in 
the sun), to last until we reached the buffalo -range ; rifles put 
in order, and balls run ; hobbles cut out of raw hide, parfleche 
mocassins cobbled up, deerskin hunting-shirts and pantaloons 
patched, and all our very primitive u kit " overhauled to render 
it serviceable for the journey across the grand prairies, while 
the u possible-sack " was lightened of all superfluities— an easy 
task by the way. When everything was ready I was delayed 
several days in hunting up my animals. The Indian traders 
having arrived, bringing with them large herds of mules and 
horses, my mules had become separated from the horse and from 
one another, and it was with no small difficulty that I succeeded 
in finding and securing them. Having once tasted the green 
grass, they became so wild, that, at my appearance, lasso in hand, 
the cunning animals, knowing full w r ell what was in store for 



2SS ADVENTURES IX MEXICO, &c. Lchap. xxxr. 



them, threw up their heels and scampered away, defying for a 
long time all my efforts to catch them. 

My two companions had left the United States the preceding 
year, having been recommended to try the effect of change of 
climate on a severe pulmonary disease under which both laboured. 
Indeed, they were both apparently in a rapid consumption, and 
their medical advisers had given up any hope of seeing them re- 
stored to health. They had remained in the mountains during 
one of the severest winters ever known, had lived upon game, 
and frequently suffered the privations attendant upon a moun- 
tain life, and now were returning perfectly restored, and in 
robust health and spirits. 

It is an extraordinary fact that the air of the mountains has a 
wonderfully restorative effect upon constitutions enfeebled by 
pulmonary disease; and of my own knowledge I could mention 
a hundred instances where persons, whose cases have been pro- 
nounced by eminent practitioners as perfectly hopeless, have 
been restored to comparatively sound health by a sojourn in the 
pure and bracing air of the Rocky Mountains, and are now 
alive to testify to the effects of the revigorating climate. 

That the lungs are most powerfully acted upon by the rarified 
air of these elevated regions. I mvself. in common with the accli- 
mated hunters, who experience the same effects, can bear witness, 
as it is almost impossible to take violent exercise on foot, the 
lungs feeling as if they were bursting in the act of breathing, 
and consequently the hunters invariably follow game on horse- 
back, although, from being inured to the climate, they might be 
supposed to experience these symptoms in a lesser degree. 

TThatever may be urged against such a climate, the fact 
nevertheless remains, that the lungs are thus powerfully affected, 
and that the violent action has a most beneficial effect upon these 
organs when in a highly diseased state. 

The elevation above the level of the sea, of the plains at the 
foot of the mountains, is about four thousand feet, while the 
mountain valley of the Bayou Salado must reach an elevation of 
at least eight or nine thousand, and Pikp's Peak has been esti- 
mated to exceed twelve thousand. 



chap, xxxii.] CAMP ON ST. CHARLES. 289 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

Leave the Arkansa — Forks of the River — Hydropathy — Stampede — Bent's 
p or t — Fremont's Men — Californian Indian — Expertness of with Lasso — 
Big Timber — Salt Bottom — Indian Sign — Cheyenne Village — Language 
of Signs — Return of Indians from Buffalo-hunt — Thieving Propensities 
— Tree on Fire — Bois de Vaches — Death of a Teamster — Black Leg 
— Coursing a Wounded Wolf— Buffalo in Sight— Another Death— Bands 
of Buffalo — In the Thick of 'em — A Veteran Bull — Prairie Dogs — 
Their Towns — The Caches — Countless Herds of Buffalo — Coon Creeks — 
Buffalo Stampede — Running Buffalo — A Gorged Bull — Wolves and 
Calves. 

On the 30th of April, having the day before succeeded in col- 
lecting my truant mulada, I proceeded alone to the forks of the 
Arkansa and St. Charles, where I had observed, when hunting, 
that the grass was in better condition than near the pueblo, and 
here I remained two or three days, the animals faring well on 
the young grass, waiting for my two companions, who were to 
proceed with me across the grand prairies. As, however, the 
trail was infested by the Pawnees and Comanche, who had at- 
tacked every party which had attempted to cross from Santa Fe 
during the last six months, and carried off all their animals, it 
was deemed prudent to wait for the escort of Tharpe, the Indian 
trader, who was about to proceed to St. Louis with the peltries, 
the produce of his winter trade ; and as he would be accompanied 
by a large escort of mountain-men, we resolved to remain and 
accompany his party for the security it afforded. 

The night I encamped on the St. Charles the rain poured 
down in torrents, accompanied by a storm of thunder and light- 
ning, and the next morning I was comfortably lying in a pool of 
water, having been exposed to the full force of the storm. This 
was, however, merely a breaking in for a continuation of wet 
weather, which lasted fifteen days without intermission, and at 
short intervals followed us to the Missouri, during which time I 
had the pleasure of diurnal and nocturnal shower-baths, and was 

u 



200 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, Sec. [chap, xxxii. 

for thirty days undergoing a natural hydropathic course of wet 
clothes and blankets, my bed being the bare prairie, and nothing 
between me and the reservoir above but a single sarape. 

On the 2nd of May my two fellow-travellers arrived with the 
intelligence, that Tharpe could not leave until a trading-party 
from the north fork of the Platte came in to Arkansa, and 
consequently we started the next day alone. I may here men- 
tion that Tharpe started two days after us, and was killed on 
Walnut Creek by the Pawnees, while hunting buffalo at a little 
distance from camp. He was scalped and horribly mutilated. 

The night before our departure the wolves ate up all the 
riatas by which our mules and horses were picqueted ; and in the 
morning all the animals had disappeared but one. We saw by 
the tracks that they had been stampeded ; and, as a very suspi- 
cious mocassin-track was discovered near the river, we feared 
that the Arapahos had paid a visit to the mulada. One of my 
mules, however, was picqueted very near the camp, and was safe ; 
and, mounting her, I followed the track of the others across the 
river, and had the good fortune to find them all quietly feeding 
in the prairie, with the ropes eaten to their very throats. This 
day we proceeded about twenty-five miles down the river, camp- 
ing in the bottom in a tope of cotton-woods, the rain pouring 
upon us all night. 

The next day we still followed the stream, and encamped about 
four miles above Bent's Fort, which we reached the next morning, 
and most opportunely, as a company of waggons belonging to 
the United States commissariat were at the very moment getting 
under way for the Missouri. They had brought out provisions 
for the troops forming the Santa Fe division of the army of in- 
vasion, and were now on their return, empty, to Fort Leavenworth, 

under the charge of Captain , of the Quartermaster* General's 

department, who at once gave us permission to join his company, 
which consisted of twenty waggons, and as many teamsters, well 
armed. A government train of waggons had been attacked, on 
their way to Santa Fe, the preceding winter, by the Pawnees, and 
the whole party — men, mules, and waggons — captured ; the men, 
however, being allowed to continue their journey, without waggons 
or animals. They had likewise lately attacked a party under 
Kit Carson, the celebrated mountaineer, who was carrying 



chap, xxxn.] BENT'S FORT— THE PICKATWAIRE. 291 

despatches from Colonel Fremont, in California, to the govern- 
ment of the United States, and in fact every party who had passed 
the plains ; therefore, as a large number of loose stock was also to 
be carried in with the waggons, an attack was more than probable 
during the journey to the frontier. 

Bent's Fort is a square building of adobe, flanked by circular 
bastions loopholed for musketry, and entered by a large gateway 
leading into the corral or yard. Round this are the rooms in- 
habited by the people engaged in the Indian trade ; but at this 
time the Messrs. Bent themselves were absent in Santa Fe, the 
eldest brother, as I have before mentioned, having been killed in 
Taos during the insurrection of the Pueblo Indians. We here 
procured a small supply of dried buffalo-meat, which would suffice 
until we came to the buffalo-range, when sufficient meat might 
be procured to carry us into the States. 

We started about noon, proceeding the first day about ten 
miles, and camped at sundown opposite the mouth of the Pur- 
gatoire — the Pickatwaire of the mountaineers, and " Las Animas 
of the New Mexicans — an affluent of the Arkansa, rising in the 
mountains in the vicinity of the Spanish Peaks. The timber on 
the Arkansa becomes scarcer as we proceed down the river, the 
cotton-wood groves being scattered wide apart at some distance 
from each other ; and the stream itself widens out into sandy 
shallows, dotted with small islands covered with brush. At this 
camp we were joined by six or seven of Fremont's men, who had 
accompanied Kit Carson from California ; but, their animals 
" giving out " here, had remained behind to recruit them. 
They were all fine, hardy-looking young fellows, with their 
faces browned by two years' constant exposure to the sun and 
wind, and were fine specimens of mountaineers. They were 
accompanied by a Californian Indian, a young centaur, who 
handled his lasso with a dexterity which threw all the Mexican 
exploits I had previously seen into the shade, and was the means 
of bereaving several cows of their calves when we were in the 
buffalo-range. 

Our next camping-place was the " Big Timber," a large grove 
of cotton-woods on the left bank of the river, and a favourite 
wintering-place of the Cheyennes. Their camp was now broken 
up, and the village had removed to the Platte for their summer 

u 2 



292 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxxii. 

hunt. The debris of their fires and lodges were plentifully scat- 
tered about, and some stray horses were running about the 
bottom. On the 5th and 6th we moved leisurely down the river, 
camping at Sandy Creek, and in the " Salt Bottom," a large 
plain covered with salitrose efflorescences. Here we proceeded 
more cautiously, as we were now in the outskirt of the Pawnee 
and Comanche country. The waggons at night were drawn up 
into a square, and the mules enclosed after sunset within the 
corral. Mine, however, took their chance outside, being always 
picqueted near my sleeping-place, which I invariably selected in 
the middle of a good patch of grass, in order that they might 
feed well during the night. A guard was also placed over the 
corral, and every one slept with his rifle at his side. 

Near the Salt Bottom, but on the opposite side of the river, 
I this day saw seven bulls, the advanced party of the innumerable 
bands of buffalo we shortly passed through. 

On the 7th, as I rode two or three miles in advance of the 
party, followed by my mules, I came upon fresh Indian sign, 
where a village had just passed, with their lodge-poles trailing 
on the ground ; and presently, in a level bottom on the river, 
the white conical lodges of the village presented themselves a 
short distance on the right of the trail. I at once struck off and 
entered it, and was soon surrounded by the idlers of the place. 
It was a Cheyenne village ; and the young men were out, an old 
chief informed me, after buffalo, and that they would return an 
hour before sunset, measuring the hour with his hand on the 
western horizon. He also pointed out a place a little below for 
the waggons to encamp, where he said was plenty of wood and 
grass. The lodges, about fifty in number, were all regularly 
planted in rows of ten ; the chief's lodge being in the centre, 
and the skins of it being dyed a conspicuous red. Before the 
lodges of each of the principal chiefs and warriors was a stack 
of spears, from which hung his shield and arms ; whilst the skins 
of the lodge itself were covered with devices and hieroglyphics, 
describing his warlike achievements. Before one was a painted 
pole supporting several smoke-dried scalps, which dangled in the 
wind, rattling against the pole like bags of peas. 

The language of signs is so perfectly understood in the western 
country, and the Indians themselves are such admirable panto-* 



chap, xxxii.] DEATH OF A TEAMSTER. 293 

mimists, that, after a little use, no difficulty whatever exists in 
carrying on a conversation by such a channel ; and there are few 
mountain-men who are at a loss in thoroughly understanding 
and making themselves intelligible by signs alone, although they 
neither speak nor understand a word of the Indian tongue. 

The waggons shortly after coming up, we proceeded to the 
spot indicated by the chief, which is a camping-place well known 
to the Santa Fe traders by the name of the " Pretty Encamp- 
ment." Here we were soon surrounded by men, women, and 
children from the village, who arrived in horse-loads of five or 
six mounted on the same animal, and, begging and stealing 
everything they could lay their hands upon, soon became a 
perfect nuisance. An hour before sundown the hunting party 
came in, their animals tottering under heavy loads of buffalo - 
meat. Twenty-one had gone out, and in the chase had killed 
twenty-one bulls, which were portioned out, half the animal to 
each lodge. During the night a huge cotton- wood, which had 
been thoughtlessly set on fire, fell, a towering mass of flame, to 
the ground, and nearly into the midst of my animals, who, 
frightened by the thundering crash, and the showers of sparks 
and fire, broke their ropes and ran off. In the morning, however, 
they returned to camp at daybreak, and allowed me to catch 
them without difficulty. 

The next night we encamped on a bare prairie without wood, 
having recourse to the bois de vaches, or buffalo-chips, which 
strewed the ground, to make a fire. This fuel was so wet, that 
nothing but a stifling smoke rewarded our attempts. During 
the day an invalid died in one of the waggons, in which upwards 
of twenty poor wretches were being conveyed, all suffering from 
most malignant scurvy. The first waggon which arrived 
in camp sent a man to dig a hole in the prairie ; and on 
the waggon containing the dead man coming up, it stopped a 
minute to throw the body into the hole, where, lightly covered 
with earth, it w r as left, without a prayer, to the mercies of the 
wolves and birds of prey. 

Bent's Fort had been made a depot of provisions for the supply 
of the government trains passing the grand prairies on their way 
to New Mexico, and the waggons now returning were filled with 



294 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxxii. 



sick men suffering from attacks of scurvy.* The want of fresh 
provisions and neglect of personal cleanliness, together with the 
effects of the rigorous climate, and the intemperate and indolent 
habits of the men, rendered them proper subjects for this horrible 
scourge. In Santa Fe, and wherever the volunteer troops were 
congregated, the disease made rapid progress, and proved fatal 
in an extraordinary number of cases. 

As I was riding with some of the Californians in advance of 
the train, a large white wolf limped out of the bottom, and, giving 
chace, we soon came up to the beast, which on our approach 
crouched to the ground and awaited its death-stroke with cowardly 
sullenness. It was miserably poor, with its bones almost pro- 
truding from the skin, and one of its fore legs had been broken, 
probably by a buffalo, and trailed along the ground as it ran 
snarling and chopping its jaws with its sharp teeth. 

On the 9th, as I rode along ahead, I perceived some dark objects 
in the prairie, which, refracted by the sun striking the sandy ground, 
appeared enormous masses, without form, moving slowly along. 
Riding towards them on my mule, I soon made them out to be 
buffalo, seventeen bulls, which were coming towards me. Jump- 
ing off the mule, I thrust the picket at the end of her lariat into 
the ground, and, advancing cautiously a few paces, as the prairie 
was entirely bare, and afforded not even the cover of a prairie- 
dog mound to approach under, I lay down on the ground to 
await their coming. As they drew near, the huge beasts, un- 
conscious of danger, picked a bunch of grass here and there, 
sometimes kicking up the dust with their fore feet, and, moving 
at the slowest walk, seemed in no hurry to offer me a shot. Just 
however as they were within a hundred paces, and I was already 
squinting along the barrel of my rifle, a greenhorn from the 
waggons, who had caught a glimpse of the game, galloped head- 
long down the bluff, and before the wind. He was a quarter of a 
mile off when the leading bull, raising his head, snuffed the tainted 
air, and with tail erect scampered off with his companions, leaving 
me showering imprecations on the head of the " muff" who had 
spoiled my sport and supper. Whilst I was lying on the ground 
three wolves, which were following the buffalo, caught sight of 
* Called " Black Leg " in Missouri. 



chap, xxxii.] ANOTHER DEATH— A VETERAN. 



295 



me, and seemed instantly to divine my intentions, for they drew 
near, and, sitting within a few yards of me, anxiously gazed upon 
me and the approaching bulls, thinking, no doubt, that their per- 
severing attendance upon them was now about to be rewarded. 
They were doubtless disgusted when, as soon as I perceived the 
bulls disappear, I turned my rifle upon one cur which sat licking 
his chaps, and knocked him over, giving the others the benefit of 
the remaining barrel as they scampered away from their fallen 
comrade. I now rode on far ahead, determined not to be dis- 
turbed ; and by the time the waggons came into camp I had 
already arrived there with the choice portions of two bulls which 
I killed near the river. We encamped on the 9th at Choteau's 
Island, called after an Indian trader named Choteau, who was 
here beleaguered by the Pawnees for several weeks, but eventually 
made his escape in safety. Every mile we advanced the buffalo 
became more plentiful, and the camp was soon overflowing with 
fresh meat. 

The country was literally black with immense herds, and they 
were continually crossing and recrossing the trail during the day, 
giving us great trouble to prevent the loose animals from break- 
ing away and following the bands. 

On the 12th a man was found dead in one of the waggons on 
arriving in camp, and was buried in the same unceremonious 
style as the first. In the evening I left the camp for a load of 
meat, and approached an immense herd of buffalo under cover 
of a prairie-dog town, much to the indignation of the villagers, 
who resented the intrusion with an incessant chattering. The 
buffalo passed right through the town, and at one time I am sure 
that I could have touched many with the end of my rifle, and 
thousands were passing almost over me : but, as I lay perfectly 
still, they only looked at me from under their shaggy brows, and 
passed on. One huge bull, and the most ferocious-looking ani- 
mal I ever encountered, came to a dead stop within a yard of my 
head, and steadily examined me with his glaring eyes, snorting 
loudly his ignorance of what the curious object could be which 
riveted his attention. Once he approached so close that I ac- 
tually felt his breath on my face, and, smelling me, he retreated a 
pace or two, and dashed up the sand furiously with his feet, lash- 
ing his tail at the same time about his dun sides with the noise 



296 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxxit. 

of a carter's whip, throwing down his ponderous head, and shaking 
his horns angrily at me. This old fellow was shedding his hair, 
and his sleek skin, now bare as one's hand in many parts, was 
here and there dotted with tufts of his long winter-coat. From 
the shoulder backwards the body was, with these exceptions, per- 
fectly smooth, but his head, neck, and breast were covered with 
long shaggy hair, his glowing eyes being almost hidden in a 
matted mass, while his coal-black beard swept his knees. His 
whole appearance reminded me strongly of a lion, and the motion 
of the buffalo when running exactly resembles the canter of the 
king of beasts. At last my friend began to work himself up 
into such a fury that I began to feel rather uncomfortable at my 
position, and, as he backed himself and bent his head for a rush, 
I cocked my rifle, and rose partly from the ground to take a 
surer aim, when the cowardly old rascal, with a roar of affright, 
took to his heels, followed by the whole band ; but as one sleek, 
well-conditioned bull passed me within half a dozen yards, I 
took a flying shot, and rolled him over and over in a cloud of 
dust, levelling to the ground, as he fell, a well-built dog-house. 

No animals in these western regions interested me so much as 
the prairie-dogs. These lively little fellows select for the site of 
their towns a level piece of prairie with a sandy or gravelly soil, 
out of which they can excavate their dwellings with great facility. 
Being of a merry, sociable disposition, they, unlike the bear or 
wolf, choose to live in a large community, where laws exist for 
the public good, and there is less danger to be apprehended from 
the attacks of their numerous and crafty enemies. Their towns 
equal in extent and population the largest cities of Europe, some 
extending many miles in length, with considerable regularity in 
their streets, and the houses of a uniform style of architecture. 
Although their form of government may be styled republican, 
yet great respect is paid to their chief magistrate, who, generally 
a dog of large dimensions and imposing appearance, resides in a 
house conspicuous for size in the centre of the town, where he 
may always be seen on his housetop, regarding with dignified 
complacency the various occupations of the busy population — 
some industriously bearing to the granaries the winter supply of 
roots, others building or repairing their houses ; while many, their 
work being over, sit chatting on their housetops, watching the 



chap. xxxii.J PKAIRIE-DOGS— DOG-TOWNS. 297 

■ ' ■ .* ' 

gambols of the juveniles as they play around them. Their hos- 
pitality to strangers is unbounded. The owl, who on the bare 
prairie is unable to find a tree or rock in which to build her 
nest, is provided with a comfortable lodging, where she may in 
security rear her round-eyed progeny ; and the rattlesnake, in 
spite of his bad character, is likewise entertained with similar 
hospitality, although it is very doubtful if it is not sometimes 
grossly abused ; and many a childless dog may perhaps justly 
attribute his calamity to the partiality of the epicurean snake 
for the tender meat of the delicate prairie-pup. However, it is 
certain that the snake is a constant guest ; and, whether admitted 
into the domestic circle of the dog family, or living in separate 
apartments, or in copartnership with the owl, is an acknow- 
ledged member of the community at large. 

The prairie-dog (a species of marmot) is somewhat longer than 
a guinea-pig, of a light brown or sandy colour, and with a head 
resembling that of a young terrier pup. It is also furnished with 
a little stumpy tail, which, when its owner is excited, is in a per- 
petual jerk and flutter. Frequently, when hunting, I have amused 
myself for hours in watching their frolicsome motions, lying con- 
cealed behind one of their conical houses. These are raised in 
the form of a cone, two or three feet above the ground, and at 
the apex is a hole, vertical to the depth of three feet, and then 
descending obliquely into the interior. Of course, on the first 
approach of such a monster as man, all the dogs which have 
been scattered over the town scamper to their holes as fast 
as their little legs will admit, and, concealing all but their 
heads and tails, bark lustily their displeasure at the intrusion. 
When they have sufficiently exhibited their daring, every dog 
dives into his burrow, but two or three who remain as sentinels, 
chattering in high dudgeon, until the enemy is within a few 
paces of them, when they take the usual summerset, and the town 
is silent and deserted. Lying perfectly still for several minutes, 
I could observe an old fellow raise his head cautiously above his 
hole, and reconnoitre ; and if satisfied that the coast was clear, he 
would commence a short bark. This bark, by the way, from its 
resemblance to that of a dog, has given that name to this little 
animal, but it is more like that of a wooden toy-dog, which is 
made to bark by raising and depressing the bellows under the 



298 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxxii. 

figure. When this warning has been given, others are soon seen 
to emerge from their houses, and, assured of their security, play 
and frisk about. After a longer delay, rattlesnakes issue from 
the holes, and coil themselves in the sunny side of the hillock, 
erecting their treacherous heads, and rattling an angry note of 
warning if, in his play, a thoughtless pup approaches too near ; 
and, lastly, a sober owl appears, and, if the sun be low, hops 
through the town, picking up the lizards and cameleons which 
everywhere abound. At the first intimation of danger given by 
the sentinels, all the stragglers hasten to their holes, tumbling 
over owls and rattlesnakes, who hiss and rattle angrily at being 
disturbed. Every one scrambles off to his own domicile, and if, 
in his hurry, he should mistake his dwelling, or rush for safety 
into any other than his own, he is quickly made sensible of his 
error, and, without ceremony, ejected. Then, every house occu- 
pied, commences such a volley of barking, and such a twinkling 
of little heads and tails, which alone appear above the holes, as 
to defy description. The lazy snakes, regardless of danger, re- 
main coiled up, and only evince their consciousness by an occa- 
sional rattle ; while the owls, in the hurry and confusion, betake 
themselves, with sluggish wing, to wherever a bush of sage or 
grease-wood affords them temporary concealment. 

The prairie-dog leads a life of constant alarm, and numerous 
enemies are ever on the watch to surprise him. The hawk and 
the eagle, hovering high in air, watch their towns, and pounce 
suddenly upon them, never failing to carry off in their cruel 
talons some unhappy member of the community. The coyote, 
too, an hereditary foe, lurks behind a hillock, watching patiently 
for hours until an unlucky straggler approaches within reach of 
his murderous spring. In the winter, when the prairie-dog, snug 
in his subterranean abode, and with granaries well filled, never 
cares to expose his little nose to the icy blasts which sweep across 
the plains, but, between eating and sleeping, passes merrily the 
long, frozen winter, he is often roused from his warm bed, and 
almost congealed with terror, by hearing the snorting yelp of the 
half-famished wolf, who, mad with hunger, assaults, with tooth 
and claw, the frost-bound roof of his house, and, with almost 
superlupine strength, hurls down the well-cemented walls, tears 
up the passages, plunges his cold nose into the very chambers, 



chap. xxxn.J THE CACHES— COON CREEKS. 299 

snorting into them with his earth-stuffed nose, in ravenous 
anxiety, and drives the poor little trembling inmate into the 
most remote corners, too often to be dragged forth, and unhesi- 
tatingly devoured. The rattlesnake, too, I fear, is not the wel- 
come guest he reports himself to be ; for often I have slain the 
wily serpent, with a belly too much protuberant to be either 
healthy or natural, and bearing, in its outline, a very strong re- 
semblance to the figure of a prairie-dog. 

A few miles beyond a point on the river known as the Caches, 
and so called from the fact that a party of traders, having lost 
their animals, had here cached, or concealed, their packs, we 
passed a little log fort, built by the government employes, for the 
purpose of erecting here a forge to repair the commissariat wag- 
gons on their way to Santa Fe'. We found the fort beleaguered 
by the Pawnees, who killed every one who showed his nose out- 
side the gate. They had carried off all their stock of mules and 
oxen, and in the vicinity had, two or three days before, attacked a 
company under an officer of the United States Engineers, running 
off with all the mules belonging to it. We were now, day after 
day, passing through countless herds of buffalo. I could scarcely 
form an estimate of the numbers within the range of sight at the 
same instant, but some idea may be formed of them by mention- 
ing, that one day, passing along a ridge of upland prairie at least 
thirty miles in length, and from which a view extended about 
eight miles on each side of a slightly rolling plain, not a patch 
of grass ten yards square could be seen, so dense was the living 
mass that covered the country in every direction. 

On leaving the Caches, the trail, to avoid a bend in the 
Arkansa, strikes to the north-east over a tract of rolling prairie, 
intersected by many ravines, full of water at certain seasons, 
known as the Coon Creeks. On this route there is no other fuel 
than bois de vaches, and the camps are made on naked bluffs, ex- 
posed, without the slightest shelter, to the chilling winds that 
sweep continually over the bare plains. I scarcely remember to 
have suffered more from cold than in passing these abominable 
Coon Creeks. With hunting-shirt saturated with the rain, the 
icy blast penetrated to my very bones, and, night after night, 
lying on the wet ground and in wet clothes, after successive 
days of pouring rain I felt my very blood running cold in my 



300 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxxit. 



veins, and as if I never could again imbibe heat sufficient to warm 
me thoroughly. 

One night, while standing guard round the camp, which was 
about two miles from the river, I heard an inexplicable noise, 
like distant thunder, but too continuous to proceed from that 
source, which gradually increased, and drew nearer to the camp. 
Placing my ear to the ground, I distinguished the roaring tramp 
of buffalo thundering on the plain ; and as the moon for a moment 
burst from a cloud, I saw the prairie was covered by a dark mass, 
which undulated, in the uncertain light, like the waves of the 
sea. I at once became sensible of the imminent danger we were 
in ; for when thousands and hundreds of thousands of these 
animals are pouring in a resistless torrent over the plains, it is 
almost impossible to change their course, particularly at night, 
the myriads in the rear pushing on those in front, who, spite of 
themselves, continue on their course, trampling down all opposi- 
tion to their advance. Even if we ourselves were not crushed 
by the mass of beasts, our animals would most certainly be borne 
away bodily with the herd, and irrecoverably lost. I at once 
alarmed the camp, and all hands turned out, and, advancing 
towards the buffalo, which were coming straight upon us, by 
shouting and continued firing of guns we succeeded in turning 
them, the wind being, luckily, in our favour ; and the main body 
branching in two, one division made off into the prairie, while 
the other crossed the river, where for hours we heard their 
splashing, sounding like the noise of a thousand cataracts. In 
the daytime even our cavallada was in continual danger, for im- 
mense bands of buffalo dashed repeatedly through the waggons, 
scarcely giving us time to secure the animals before they were 
upon us ; and on one occasion, when I very foolishly dismounted 
from Panchito to fire at a band passing within a few yards, the 
horse, becoming alarmed, started off into the herd, and, followed 
by the mules, was soon lost to sight amongst the buffalo, and it 
was some time before I succeeded in recovering them. 

As might be inferred, such gigantic sporting soon degenerates 
into mere butchery. Indeed, setting aside the excitement of a 
chase on horseback, buffalo-hunting is too wholesale a business 
to afford much sport — that is, on the prairies ; but in the moun- 
tains, where they are met with in small bands, and require no little 



chap, xxxn.] HUNTING BUFFALO—GORGED BULL. 301 

trouble and expertness to find and kill, and where one may hunt 
for days without discovering more than one band of half a dozen, 
it is then an exciting and noble sport. 

There are two methods of hunting buffalo — one on horseback, 
by chasing them at full speed, and shooting when alongside ; 
the other by " still hunting," that is, " approaching," or stalking, 
by taking advantage of the wind and any cover the ground 
affords, and crawling to within distance of the feeding herd. 
The latter method exhibits in a higher degree the qualities of 
the hunter, the former those of the horseman. The buffalo's 
head is so thickly thatched with long shaggy hair that the animal 
is almost precluded from seeing an object directly in its front ; 
and if the wind be against the hunter he can approach, with a 
little caution, a buffalo feeding on a prairie as level and bare as 
a billiard-table. Their sense of smelling, however, is so acute, 
that it is impossible to get within shot when to windward, as, at 
the distance of nearly half a mile, the animal will be seen to 
snuff the tainted air, and quickly satisfy himself of the vicinity 
of danger. At any other than the season of gallantry, when the 
males are, like all other animals, disposed to be pugnacious, 
the buffalo is a quiet, harmless animal, and will never attack 
unless goaded to madness by wounds, or, if a cow, in sometimes 
defending its calf when pursued by a horseman ; but even then 
it is seldom that they make any strong effort to protect their 
young. 

When gorged with water, after a long fast, they become so 
lethargic that they sometimes are too careless to run and avoid 
danger. One evening, just before camping, I was, as usual, in 
advance of the train, when I saw three bulls come out of the 
river and walk leisurely across the trail, stopping occasionally, 
and one, more indolent than the rest, lying down whenever the 
others halted. Being on my hunting-mule, I rode slowly after 
them, the lazy one stopping behind the others, and allowing me 
to ride within a dozen paces, when he would slowly follow the 
rest. Wishing to see how near I could get, I dismounted, 
and, rifle in hand, approached the bull, who at last stopped short, 
and never even looked round, so that I walked up to the animal 
and placed my hand on his quarter. Taking no notice of me, 



302 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxxii. 

the huge beast lay down, and while on the ground I shot him 
dead. On butchering the carcase I found the stomach so greatly 
distended, that another pint would have burst it. In other re- 
spects the animal was perfectly healthy and in good condition. 

One of the greatest enemies to the buffalo is the white wolf. 
These persevering brutes follow the herds from pasture to pas- 
ture, preying upon the bulls enfeebled by wounds, the cows 
when weak at the time of calving, and the young calves when- 
ever they straggle from the mothers. In bands of twenty and 
thirty they attack a wounded bull, separate him from the herd, 
and worry the poor animal until, weak with loss of blood and 
the ceaseless assaults of his active foes, he falls hamstrung, a 
victim to their ravenous hunger. 

On one of the Coon Creeks I was witness to an attack of this 
kind by three wolves on a cow and calf, or rather on the latter 
alone, which by some accident had got separated from the herd. 
My attention was first called to the extraordinary motions of 
the cow (for I could neither see the calf nor the wolves on 
account of the high grass), which was running here and there, 
jumping high in air and bellowing lustily. On approaching the 
spot I saw that she was accompanied by a calf about a month 
old, and all the efforts of three wolves were directed to get be- 
tween it and the cow, who, on her part, used all her generalship 
to prevent it. Whilst one executed a diversion in the shape of a 
false attack on the cow, the others ran at the calf, which sought 
shelter under the very belly of its mother. She, poor animal ! 
regardless of the wounds inflicted on herself, sought only to face 
the more open attack ; and the wolf in rear, taking advantage of 
this, made a bolder onslaught, and fastened upon her hams, 
getting however for his pains such a well-delivered kick in his 
stomach as threw him a summerset in the air. The poor cow 
was getting the w r orst of it ; and the calf would certainly have 
fallen a victim to the ravenous beasts, if I had not most oppor- 
tunely come to the rescue ; and, waiting until the battle rolled 
near the place of my concealment, I took advantage of a tem- 
porary pause in the combat, when two of the w r olves were sitting 
in a line, with their tongues out and panting for breath, to level 
my rifle at them, knocking over one dead as a stone, and giving 



chap, xxxii.] WOLVES AND BUFFALO. 303 

the other a pill to be carried with him to the day of his death, 
which, if I am any judge of gun-shot wounds, would not be very 
distant. The third took the hint and scampered off, a ball from 
my second barrel whistling after him as he ran ; and I had the sa- 
tisfaction of seeing the cow cross the river with her calf, and join 
in safety the herd, which was feeding on the other side. 



304 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxxiii. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

Pawnee Fork — Stormy Weather — A Contented Traveller — A Wet Night 
— Crossing the Creek — Packs Damaged — Cow Creek — Myriads of Buffalo 
— Running a Cow — Scenery of the Grand Prairies — Council Grove — Ap- 
pearances of Civilization — Fat Cattle — A Storm at Night — Bugs, Beetles, 
and Rattlesnakes — The " Cow " Country. 

We reached Pawnee Fork of the Arkansa without any " nove- 
dad" but found this creek so swollen with the rains that we 
feared we should experience no little trouble in crossing. We 
here met a train of waggons detained by the above cause on 
their way to Santa Fe*, and we learned from them that a party 
of Mexican traders had been attacked by the Pawnees at this 
very spot a few days before, losing one hundred and fifty mules, 
one Indian having been killed in the fight, whose well-picked 
skeleton lay a few yards from our camp. Pawnee Fork being 
considered the most dangerous spot on the trail, extraordinary 
precautions were taken in guarding against surprise, and the 
animals belonging to the train were safely corralled before sun- 
down, and a strong guard posted round them. Mine, however, 
were picketed as usual round my sleeping-place, which was on 
a bare prairie at some distance from the timber of the creek. 
Such a storm as poured upon our devoted heads that night I 
have seldom had the misfortune to be exposed to. The rain, in 
bucketsful, Niagara'd down as if a twenty-years' supply was being 
emptied from the heavens on that one night ; vivid forked light- 
ning, in continuous flashes, lit up the flooded prairie with its glare ; 
and the thunder, which on these plains is thunder indeed, kept up 
an incessant and mammoth cannonade. My frightened mules 
crept as near my bed as their lariats would allow them, and, with 
water streaming from every extremity, trembled with the chill- 
ing rain. 

In the early part of the night, when the storm was at its 
height, I was attracted to a fire at the edge of the encampment 



chap, xxxm.] A WET NIGHT-CROSSING THE CREEK. 305 



by the sound of a man's voice perpetrating a song. Drawing 
near, I found a fire, or rather a few embers and an extinguished 
log, over which cowered a man sitting cross-legged in Indian 
fashion, holding his attenuated hands over the expiring ashes. 
His features, pinched with the cold, and lank and thin with 
disease, wore a comically serious expression, as the lightning lit 
them up, the rain streaming off his nose and prominent chin, 
and his hunting-shirt hanging about him in a flabby and soaking 
embrace. He was quite alone, and sat watching a little pot, 
doubtless containing his supper, which refused to boil on the 
miserable fire. Spite of such a situation, which could be termed 
anything but cheering, he, like Mark Tapley, evidently thought 
that now was the very moment to be jolly, and was rapping out 
at the top of his voice a ditty, the chorus of which was, and 
which he gave wdth peculiar emphasis, — 

" How happy am I ! 
From care I'm free : 
Oh, why are not all 
Contented like me ?" — 

Not for an instant intending it as a satire upon himself, but 
singing away with perfect seriousness, raising his voice at the 
third line, " Oh, why are not all," particularly at the " Oh," in a 
most serio-comical manner. During the night I occasionally 
shook the water out of my blanket, and raised my head to assure 
myself that the animals were safe, lying down to sleep again, 
perfectly satisfied that not even a Pawnee would face such a storm, 
even to steal horses. But I did that celebrated thieving nation 
gross injustice ; for they, on that very night, carried off several 
mules belonging to the other train of waggons, notwithstanding 
that a strict guard was kept up all the night. 

The next day, as there was no probability of the creek sub- 
siding, it was determined to cross the waggons at any risk ; and 
they were accordingly, one after the other, let down the steep 
bank of the stream, and, several yokes of oxen (which had first 
been swum over) being attached, were hauled bodily through the 
water, some swimming, and others, if heavily laden, diving across. 
I myself crossed on Panchito, whose natatory attempt, probably 
his first, was anything but first-rate ; for on plunging in, and at 
once, into deep water, instead of settling himself down to a quiet 

x 



306 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxxiii. 

swim, he jumped up into the air, and, sinking to the bottom, and 
thus gaining a fresh impetus, away he went again, carrying me, 
rifle, and ammunition under water at every plunge, and holding 
on by his neck like grim death. All my kit was contained in a 
pair of mule-packs, which I had had made of waterproof material. 
Unfortunately one had a hole in the top, which had escaped my 
notice. This admitted the water, which remained in the pack, 
several inches deep, for a fortnight. This pack contained all my 
papers, notes, and several manuscripts and documents relative to 
the history of New Mexico and its Indian tribes, which I had 
collected with considerable trouble and expense. On opening 
the trunk, I found all the papers completely destroyed, and the 
old manuscripts, written on bad paper, and with worse ink, 
reduced to a pulpy mass ; every scrap of writing being perfectly 
illegible. 

At length all the waggons were got safely over, with the ex- 
ception of having everything well soaked ; and as the process 
had occupied the whole day, we camped on the other side of the 
creek. Every day we found greater difficulty in procuring fuel ; 
for, as we were now on the regular Santa Fe trail, the creeks 
had been almost entirely stripped of firewood, and it was the 
work of hours to collect a sufficiency of brush to make a small 
fire to boil a pot of water. On arriving at camp, and having 
unpacked the mules, the first thing was to sally forth in quest of 
wood ; an expedition of no little danger, for it was always more 
than probable that Indians were lurking in the neighbourhood, 
and therefore the rifle always accompanied the fuel-hunter. 

Between Pawnee Fork and Cow Creek all our former expe- 
riences of buffalo-seeing were thrown into the shade, for here 
they literally formed the whole scenery, and nothing but dense 
masses of these animals was to be seen in every direction, 
covering valley and bluff, and actually blocking up the trail. 
Nothing was heard along the line of march but pop — bang — pop 
— bang every minute ; and the Californian Indian lassoed the 
calves and brought them in in such numbers, that many were 
again set free. I had hitherto refrained from " chasing," in 
order to save my poor horse ; but this day, a fine band of cows 
crossing the trail on a splendid piece of level prairie, I determined 
to try Panchito's mettle. Cantering up to the herd, I singled out 



chap, xxxiii.] RUNNING A COW. 307 

a wiry -looking cow (which sex is the fleetest), and, clashing at her, 
soon succeeded in separating her from the rest. As I steered 
Panchito right into the midst of a thousand of these animals, he 
became half mad with terror, plunging and snorting and kicking 
right and left ; but he soon became tamer and more reconciled 
when the chase was a trial of speed between him and the flying 
cow, and he then was as much excited as his rider. The cow 
held her ground wonderfully well, and for a quarter of a mile 
kept us a couple of lengths astern, which distance my horse 
seemed hardly to wish to decrease. As he became warm, how- 
ever, I pushed him up to her just as she entered a large band, 
where she doubtless thought to have found refuge ; but, running 
through it, she again made for the open prairie, and here, after 
a burst of a few hundred yards, I again came up with her ; but 
Panchito refused to lay me alongside, darting wildly on one side 
if I attempted to pass the animal. At last, pushing him with 
spur and leg, I brought him to the top of his speed, and, shooting 
past the flying cow in his stride, and with too much headway on 
him to swerve, I brushed the ribs of the buffalo with my mocassin, 
and, edging off a little to avoid her horns, discharged my rifle into 
her side, behind the shoulder. Carried forward a few paces 
in her onward course, she fell headlong to the ground, burying: 
her horns deep into the soil> and, turning over on her side, was 
dead. She was so poor that I contented myself with the 
tongue, leaving the remainder of the carcase to the wolves and 
ravens. 

TTe continued to find the buffalo in similar abundance as far 
as Cow Creek ; a little beyond which we saw the last band ; and 
on Turkey Creek the last straggler, an old grizzly bull, which I 
killed for a last supply of meat. 

After passing the Little Arkansa, the prairie began to change 
its character ; the surface became more broken, the streams more 
frequent, and fringed with better timber, and of a greater variety ; 
the eternal cotton-wood now giving place to aspen, walnut, and 
hickory, and the short curly buffalo-grass to a more luxuriant 
growth of a coarser quality, interspersed with numerous plants 
and gay flowers. The dog-towns, too, disappeared ; and, in lieu 
of these little animals, the prairie-hen boomed at rise and set of 
sun, and, running through the high grass, furnished ample work for 

x 2 



308 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxxiii. 

the rifle. Large game was becoming scarcer ; and but few ante- 
lope were now to be seen, and still fewer deer. 

No scenery in nature is more dreary and monotonous than the 
aspect of the "grand prairies" through which we had been passing. 
Nothing meets the eye but a vast undulating expanse of arid waste ; 
for the buffalo-grass, although excellent in quality, never grows 
higher than two or three inches, and is seldom green in colour ; 
and, being but thinly planted, the prairie never looks green and 
turf-like. Not a tree or shrub is to be seen, except on the creeks, 
where a narrow strip of unpicturesque cotton-wood only occa- 
sionally relieves the eye with its verdant foliage. The sky, too, 
is generally overcast, and storms sweep incessantly over the bare 
plains during all seasons of the year ; boisterous winds prevailing 
at all times, carrying with them a chilling sleet or clouds of 
driving snow f It was therefore a great relief to look upon the 
long green waving grass, and the pretty groves on the streams ; 
although our animals soon exhibited the consequences of the 
change of diet, between the rich and fattening buffalo-grass, and 
the rank, although more luxuriant, herbage they now fed upon. 

On approaching Council Grove the scenery became very pic- 
turesque ; the prairie lost its flat and monotonous character, and 
was broken into hills and valleys, with well- timbered knolls scat- 
tered here and there, intersected by clear and babbling streams, 
and covered with gaudy flowers, whose bright colours contrasted 
with the vivid green of the luxuriant grass. My eye, so long 
accustomed to the burnt and withered vegetation of the moun- 
tains, revelled in this refreshing scenery, and never tired of 
gazing upon the novel view. Council Grove is one of the most 
beautiful spots in the western country. A clear rapid stream 
runs through the valley, bordered by a broad belt of timber, 
which embraces all the varieties of forest-trees common to the 
west. Oak, beech, elm, maple, hickory, ash, walnut, &c, here 
presented themselves like old friends; squirrels jumped from 
branch to branch, the hum of the honey-bee sounded sweet and 
homelike, the well-known chatter of the blue jay and catbird re- 
sounded through the grove ; and in the evening the whip-poor- 
will serenaded us with its familiar tongue, and the drumming of 
the ruffed grouse boomed through the grove. The delight of the 
teamsters on first hearing these well-known sounds knew no 



chap, xxxiii.] COUNCIL GROVE— FAT CATTLE. 309 

bounds whatever. They danced, and sang, and hurrahed, as, one 
after the other, some familiar note caught their ear. Poor fel- 
lows ! they had been suffering a severe time of it, and many hard- 
ships and privations, and doubtless snuffed in the air the johnny- 
cakes and hommany of their Missouri homes. 

" AVagh ! " exclaimed one raw-boned young giant, as a bee 
flew past ; M this feels like the old 'ooman, and mush and 
molasses at that ! if it don't, I'll be dog-gone !" 

" Hurroo for old Missouri ! " roared another ; " h'yar's a 
hos as will knock the hind sights off the corn-doins. Darn my 
old heart if thar arn't a reg'lar-built hickory — makes my eyes 
sweat to look at it! This child will have no more ' moun- 
tains;' hurroo for old Missouri ! Wagh ! " 

A trader amongst the Caw Indians had erected himself a log 
house at the grove, which appeared to us a magnificent palace. 
Himsel f, his cows and horses, looked so fat and sleek, that we 
really thought them unnaturally so; and so long had I been used 
to see the rawboned animals of Mexico and the mountains, that I 
gravely asked him what he gave them, and why he made them 
so unwieldy. When he told me that his stock were all very 
poor, and nothing to what they were when they left the States a 
month before, I thought the man was taking a " rise " out of me ; 
and when I showed him my travel-worn animals^ and bragged of 
their, to me, plump condition, he told me that where he came 
from it would be thought cruel to w r ork such starved-looking 
beasts. There was one lodge of Gaw Indians at the grove, the 
big village being out on the prairie, hunting buffalo. On the 
opposite side of the stream was a party of Americans from 
Louisiana, who had been out for the purpose of catching calves ; 
and round their camp some thirty were feeding, all they had been 
able to keep alive out of upwards of a hundred. 

From Council Grove to Caw, or Kansas, Eiver, the country 
increases in beauty, and presents many most admirable spots for 
a settlement ; but as it is guaranteed by treaty to the Caw and 
Osage Indians, no white man is allowed by the United States 
government to settle on their lands. 

The night before reaching Caw River we encamped on a bare 
prairie, through which ran a small creek, fringed with timber. 
At sundown the wind, which had blown smartly the whole day, 



310 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxxiii. 

suddenly fell, and one of those unnatural calms succeeded, which so 
surely herald a storm in these regions. The sky became overcast 
with heavy inky clouds, and an intolerably sultry and oppressive 
heat pervaded the atmosphere. Myriads of fire-flies darted about, 
and legions of bugs and beetles, and invading hosts of sandflies 
and mosquitos droned and hummed in the air, swooping like 
charging Cossacks on my unfortunate body. Beetles and bugs of 
easy squeezability, brobdignag proportions, and intolerable odour, 
darted into my mouth as I gasped for breath ; while sandflies with 
their atomic stings probed my nose and ears, and mosquitos thrust 
their poisoned lances into every part of my body. Hoping for 
the coming storm, I lay without covering, exposed to all their 
attacks; but the agony of this merciless persecution was nothing 
to the thrill of horror which pervaded my very bones when a 
cold clammy rattlesnake crawled over my naked ankles ; a flash of 
lightning at the moment revealing to me the reptile, as with 
raised head it dragged its scaly belly across my skin, during 
which time, to me an age, I feared to draw a breath lest the 
snake should strike me. Presently the storm broke upon us ; a 
hurricane of wind squalled over the prairie, a flash of vivid 
lightning, followed by a clap of deafening thunder, and then 
down came the rain in torrents. I actually revelled in the 
shower-bath; for away on the instant were washed bugs and 
beetles ; mosquitos were drowned in millions ; and the rattle- 
snakes I knew would now retire to their holes, and leave me in 
peace and quiet for the remainder of the night. 

We now passed through a fine country, partially cultivated by 
the Caw Indians, whose log shanties were seen scattered amongst 
the timbered knolls. Caw River itself is the head-quarters of 
the nation, and we halted that night in the village, where, in the 
house of a white farmer, I ate the first civilized meal I had 
tasted for many months, and enjoyed the unusual luxury of eat- 
ing at a table with knife and fork ; moreover sitting on a chair, 
which however I would gladly have dispensed with, for I had so 
long been accustomed to sit Indian fashion on the ground^ that a 
chair was at first both unpleasant and awkward. The meal con- 
sisted of hot cakes and honey, delicious butter, and lettuce and 
radishes. My animals fared well too, on Indian corn, and oats 
in the straw ; and the whole expense, eleven horses and mules 



chap, xxxiii.] DRAGOONS. 311 

having been fed the better part of a day and one night, amounted 
to one dollar and a half, or six shillings sterling. 

A troop of dragoons from St. Louis to Fort Leavenworth met 
us on the road on their way to the latter station, from whence 
they were about to escort a train of waggons, containing specie, 
to Santa Fe. They were superbly mounted : the horses, uniting 
plenty of blood with bone, so great a desideratum for cavalry, 
were about fifteen hands high, and in excellent condition. The 
dragoons themselves were all recruits, and neither soldierlike in 
dress nor appearance. 



12 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [cnAP. xxxit 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

Kansas or Caw River — Fort Leavenworth — The Barracks — Create a Sensa- 
tion — Adieu to my Animals — The Parting — Down the Missouri — Yankee 
Manners — Improvement in — A Scrimmage — Slaves and Slavery — Miseries 
of Civilized Life. 

We passed the Kansas or Caw River by a ferry worked by In- 
dians, and, striking into a most picturesque country of hill and 
dale, well timbered and watered, entered the valley of the great 
Missouri. A short distance from the river, on the left of 
the trail, is a tabular bluff of most extraordinary formation, 
being the exact and accurately outlined figure of a large fortifi- 
cation, with escarpments, counterscarps, glacis, and all details, 
perfectly delineated. A little farther on we came in sight of 
the garrison of Fort Leavenworth, the most western military 
station of the United States, and situated on the right bank of 
the Missouri in the Indian territory. The fort is built on an 
eminence overhanging the river, but, although called a fort, 
has no pretensions to be a military work, the only defence to the 
garrison being four wooden block-houses, loopholed for mus- 
ketry, placed at each corner of the square of buildings. The 
barracks, stables, and officers' quarters surrounded this square, 
which is planted with trees and covered with luxuriant grass. 
The accommodation for the men and officers is excellent ; the 
houses of the latter being large and commodious, and quite 
unlike the dirty pigsties which are thought good enough for the 
accommodation of British officers. The soldiers' barrack-rooms 
are large and airy, but no attention appears to be paid to clean- 
liness, and the floors, walls, and windows were dirty in the ex- 
treme. The beds are all double, or rather the bedsteads, for 
the bedding is separate, but in close contact. What struck me 
more than anything was the admirable condition of the horses, 
and their serviceable appearance : I did not see a single troop- 
horse in the squadron which would not have sold in England 



chap, xxxiv.] FORT LEAVENWORTH. 313 

for eighty guineas ; the price paid for them here, that is, the 
government contract price, being from fifty to eighty dollars, or 
from ten to twenty pounds. 

The garrison constitutes the whole population of the place. 
With the exception of the sutler's store for the use of the 
soldiers, there are neither shops, taverns, nor private buildings of 
any description ; and I should have fared but badly if it had not 
been for the hospitality of Captain Enos, of the quartermaster- 
general's department, who most kindly assigned to me a room in 
his own quarters in the garrison, and made me a member of his 
mess. 

The officers of the dragoons, who may be said to be buried foi 
life in this wilderness, are mostly married, and their families 
constitute the only society the place affords. I remember to 
have been not a little struck at the first sight of many very pretty, 
well-dressed ladies, who, after my long sojourn amongst the dusky 
squaws, appeared to me like the houris of paradise ; and I have 
no doubt that I myself came in for a share of " staring," for I 
was dressed in complete " mountain costume," with my maho- 
gany-coloured face shaded by a crimson turban a la Indien, and 
in all the pride of fringed deerskin and porcupine-quills ; and I 
was paid the compliment of being more than once mistaken for 
an Indian chief; and on one occasion I was appealed to by two 
of the dragoons to decide a bet as to whether I was a white man 
or a redskin. One day I was passing through the dragoons' 
stables when the men were cleaning their horses, and my appear- 
ance created no little difference of opinion amongst the troopers 
as to what tribe of Indians I belonged to. 

" That's a Pottowatomie," said one, " by his red turban." 

" How long have you been in the west," cried another, " not 
to know a Kickapoo when you see him ?" 

" Pshaw !" exclaimed a third ; " that's a white trapper from 
the mountains. A regular mountain-boy that, I'll bet a 
dollar !" 

One smart-looking dragoon, however, looked into my face, 
and, turning round to his comrades, said, " Well, boys, I'll just 
bet you a dollar all round that that Injun's no other than a 
British officer. Wagh ! And what's more, I can tell you his 
name." — And, sure enough, my acquaintance proved to be one 



314 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxxiv. 

of the many deserters from the British army belonging to the 
dragoons, and one who had known me when in the service myself. 
After a few days' stay at Fort Leavenworth I made prepara- 
tions for my departure to St. Louis, getting rid of my mountain- 
traps, and, what caused me no little sorrow, parting with my 
faithful animals, who had been my companions in a long and 
wearisome journey of more than three thousand miles, during 
the greater part of which they had been almost my only friends 
and companions. I had, however, the satisfaction of knowing 
that whilst with me they had never experienced a blow or an 
angry word from me, and had always fared of the very best — 
when procurable ; and many a mile I had trudged on foot to save 
them the labour of carrying me. For Panchito I found a kind 
master — exacting, in return for the present, a promise that he 
should not be worked for the next three months ; and, before 
leaving, I had the satisfaction of knowing that, in company with 
three old acquaintances who had pastured with him in the moun- 
tains, he was enjoying himself in veritable " clover," and corn 
unlimited, where, I doubt not, he soon regained his quondam 
beauty and condition. The disposal of the mules gave me 
greater anxiety, as there was such a demand for these animals at 
the moment to send with the government trains to New Mexico, 
that I knew to give them away would be only to put their value 
in the pocket of a stranger, and the animals themselves into the 
first waggon which crossed the plains. I therefore sold them to 
the commissary at the fort, and paid them daily visits in the 
government stables, where they revelled in the good things of 
this life, and had, moreover, a kind-hearted master in the shape 
of the Missourian teamster who had the charge of them, and 
who, on my giving him a history of their adventures, and a good 
and true account of their dispositions and qualities, promised to 
take every care of the poor beasts ; and, indeed, was quite proud 
of having under his charge such a travelled team. The parting 
between Panchito and the mules was heartrending, and for 
two or three days they all refused to eat and be comforted ; but 
at the end of that time their violent grief softened down into a 
chastened melanchol} r , w r hich gradually merged into a steady 
appetite for the " corn-doins " of the liberal master of the mules ; 
and before leaving I felt assured, from their sleek and well-filled 



chap, xxxiv.] YANKEE MANNERS. 3 1 5 

appearance, that they were quite able to start on another expe- 
dition across the plains. 

A steamboat touching at the fort, bound for the Mississippi and 
St. Louis, I availed myself of the opportunity, and secured my- 
self a berth for the latter city. After running upon sand-bars 
every half-hour, about thirty miles below Independence we at 
last stuck hard and fast, and, spite of the panting efforts of the 
engine, there we remained during the night, and until noon the 
next day. A steamboat then made its appearance, bound, like our- 
selves, down the river, and, coming up alongside, the two captains 
held a consultation, which ended in ours recommending his pas- 
sengers to " make tracks " into the other boat, as he did not 
expect to get off; which interchange being effected, and our 
fares paid to the other boat, a hawser was attached to the one 
aground, and she was readily hauled off — we, the passengers, 
having been done pretty considerably brown in the transaction. 
However, such rascalities as these, on the western waters, are 
considered no more than " smart/'" and are taken quite as a 
matter of course by the free and enlightened citizens of the 
model republic. 

I must say that since a former visit to the States, made three 
years ago, I perceived a decided improvement, thanks to the Trol- 
lope and Boz castigations, in the manners and conduct of steam- 
boat travellers, and in the accommodations of the boats them- 
selves. With the exception of the expectorating nuisance, which 
still flourishes in all its disgusting " monstrosity," a stranger's 
sense of decency and decorum is not more shocked than it would 
be in travelling down the Thames in a Gravesend or Heme Bay 
steamer. There is even quite an arbitrary censorship established 
on the subject of dress and dirty linen, which is, since it is pas- 
sively submitted to by the citizens, an unmistakable sign of the 
times. As a proof of this, one evening, as I sat outside the cabin, 
reading, a young man, slightly " corned," or overtaken in his 
drink, accosted me abruptly : — 

" Stranger, you haven't are a clean shirt to part with, have 
you ? The darned [hiccup] capen says I must go ashore bekase 
my 'tarnal shirt ain't clean." 

And this I found to be the fact, for the man was actually 
ejected from the saloon at dinner-time, on his attempting to take 



316 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxxiv. 

his seat at the table in a shirt which bore the stains of julep and 
cocktail. 

The miserable scenery of the muddy Missouri has been 
too often described to require any additional remarks. The 
steamboat touched occasionally at a wood-pile, to take in fuel ; 
and sallow, aguish faces peered from the log-shanties as we 
passed. We had the usual amount of groundings on sand-bars, aud 
thumping against snags and sawyers ; passed the muddy line of 
demarcation between the waters of the Missouri and the " Father 
of Streams," and, in due course, on the fourth day ran alongside 
the outer edge of three tiers of huge steamboats which lined the 
wharf at St. Louis. 

We had but one exciting episode during the voyage, in the shape 
of a combat between one of the " hands " of the boat (a diabolical- 
looking Mexican) and the mate. The latter, at a wooding 
station, thinking that the man was not sufficiently " spry," ad- 
ministered a palthogue, which not meeting the approbation of 
the Mejicano, that worthy immediately drew his knife and chal- 
lenged the aggressor. The mate, seizing a log from the pile, 
advanced towards him, and the Mexican, likewise, dropping his 
knife, took up a similar weapon; and rushed to the attack. After 
a return of blows they came to close quarters, hugged, and fell, 
the Yankee uppermost, whose every energy was now directed to 
gouge out the eye of his prostrate foe, while he on his part, seiz- 
ing the eye-scooper by his long hair, tugged, with might and main, 
to pull him to the ground. With a commendable spirit of fair 
play, the other " hands " danced round the combatants, adminis- 
tering well-directed kicks on the unfortunate Mexican's head 
and body, in all the excitement of unrestrainable valour. The 
captain, however, interfered, and secured a fair field for the 
gallant pair ; but at length, tired of the bungling attempts of his 
mate to screw his antagonist's eye out of its socket, pulled him 
off, and, giving the Mexican a friendly kick in the ribs, desired 
him to get up. That worthy rose undismayed, and, ramming 
the end of his thumb into his eye, to drive that organ into its 
proper place, exclaimed, " Que carajo es este, qui no sabe pel ear !" 
— what a cur is this, who does not know how to fight ! and, 
shaking himself, sat upon a log, and proceeded coolly to make 
himself a shuck-cigar. 



chat.xxxiv.] SLAVES AND SLAVERY. 317 

A negro came up to me at Fort Leavenworth, and asked me 
to allow him to accompany me down to St. Louis. On my saying 
that I did not require a servant for so short a distance, he told 
me that, although himself a free negro, yet no black was allowed 
to travel without a master, and that if he attempted it he would, 
in all probability, be seized and imprisoned as a runaway slave. 

This reminded me that I was in that transcendently free coun- 
try, ever boasting of its liberty and equality, which possesses, in 
a population of some eighteen millions, upwards of three millions 
of fellow-men in most abject yet lawful slavery ; — a foul blot 
upon humanity, which has every appearance of being perpetuated 
until the evil grows to such a height as will end in curing itself. 

This subject, which necessarily forces itself upon the mind of 
all travellers in the Slave States, is one which, having received 
the attention of the most enlightened philanthropists of both 
hemispheres, it would scarcely become me to dilate upon, or even 
notice, did I not feel that every one, however humble, should 
raise his voice in condemnation of that disgraceful and inhuman 
Institution, which, in a civilized country and an enlightened 
age, condemns to a social death, and degrades (by law) to the 
level of the beasts of the field, our fellow-men ; subjecting them 
to a moral as well as physical slavery, and removing from them 
every possible advantage of intellectual culture or education, by 
which they might attain any position a grade higher than they 
now possess — the human beasts of burthen of inhuman masters. 

It is adduced as an argument against the abolition of slavery, 
of course by those whose interest it is to uphold the evil, that the 
emancipation of the slaves would, in the present state of feeling 
against the negro race, be productive of effects which would con- 
vulse the whole social state of the country, or, in other words, 
that the whites would nevei rest until the whole race was exter- 
minated in the United States. That there is a physical impossi- 
bility to any amalgamation in the southern States is as certain as 
that, year by year, the difficulty of removing the evil is surely 
increasing ; and its very magnitude and the moral cowardice of 
the American people prevent this evil being grappled with at 
once, and some steps taken to oppose its perpetuation. 

The three arguments brought forward by those who endeavour 
to palliate or uphold slavery, in feeble sophistry, plainly exhibit 



318 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxxiv. 

the weakness of the cause. First, they say, We admit the evil, 
but the cure will be worse than the disease. We have inherited 
it : the blame rests not upon us, but our fathers. If the negroes 
be emancipated, what is to become of them ? They cannot, and 
shall not, remain in our community, on an equality with us and 
our children, and enjoying the privileges of white men. This 
cannot be. Moreover, the burden of supporting them will fall 
upon us, for they will not work unless compelled. 

Secondly : We deny the sinfulness of the institution. Negroes 
are not men, but were sent into the world to be slaves to the 
white man. To support this they are ready with quotations from 
Scripture, and I blush to say that I have heard well-educated and 
liberal-minded men take no other ground than this to support 
the cause. 

And, thirdly, they say no legislation can reach the evil. Law 
cannot deprive a citizen of his property : if so, away with liberty at 
once, if one act confirms rights and another removes them. 

The abolitionist of the North raves at the slave-owner of 
the South ; but let a foreigner converse with the former, and he 
will at once turn round and take the part of the slave-owner. It 
is like a third person interfering in the quarrels of man and 
wife. " No, no, my good sir," they say, " let us settle this question 
amongst ourselves ; this is a family affair." No one could deny 
the justice of this, if they really made a bond fide attempt to 
grapple the evil ; but I must confess that abolitionism in the 
United States appears to me to be anything but genuine and 
honest, and that, if left to themselves, the question is very, very 
far from any chance of settlement, unless, as I believe will be 
the result, the slaves themselves cut the Gordian knot of the 
difficulty. 

The great difficulty to be combated in America, in freeing the 
country from the curse of slavery, is prejudice. The negro is 
not recognised (startling as this assertion may be) as a fellow- 
creature — I mean by the mass of the people. This anomaly, in 
a country where the very first principle of their social organism 
is the axiom, the incontrovertible truth, that " all men are born 
equal," is the more palpable, since the popular and universal 
outcry is, and ever has been, the same sentiment which animated 
the Fathers of the Revolution, when they offered to the world, as 



chap, xxxiv.] SLAVES AND SLAVERY. 319 

a palliation for the crime of rebellion, the same watchword 
which is now so prodigally used by every American tongue, and 
so basely and universally prostituted. " All men are born equal. 
Liberty, therefore, and equal rights to alF' — except to those whose 
skins are black ! 

I have heard clergymen of the American church affirm their 
belief that the negro was placed on earth by God to be the white 
man's slave. I have heard many educated, and in every other 
respect moral and conscientious, Americans assert that negroes 
were not made in God's image, but were created as a link be- 
tween man and the beast, to minister to the former's wants, and 
to support him by the toil of their hands and the sweat of their 
brows. 

And when I add that by law it is felony to teach a negro to 
read or write, what argument can be offered to combat such 
unnatural prejudices ? I believe that slaves are generally well 
treated in the United States, although many instances could be 
adduced where the very reverse is the fact, particularly on the 
western frontier. But this good treatment is on the same grounds 
that we take care of our horses and cows and pigs, because it is 
the owner's interest to do so ; and the well-being— that is, the 
physical healthiness— of slaves is attended to in the same degree 
that we feed and clothe our horses, in order that they may be 
in condition to work for us, and thereby bring in a return for 
the care we have bestowed upon them. 

That this question will one day shake to its very centre, if it 
does not completely annihilate, the union of the American States, 
is as palpable as the result is certain. This belief is very 
generally entertained by both parties, and yet in spite of it the 
evil is allowed to increase, although its removal or cure thereby 
becomes hourly more difficult. 

Hundreds of plans have been suggested for the abolition of 
slavery, but all have been found to be impracticable, if not im- 
possible to be carried out. Perhaps the most feasible and prac- 
ticable was that proposed by the late Mr. King many years ago, 
and which at the time met with the fate of every other sug- 
gestion on the same subject. Mr. King, as sound and practical 
a statesman as the country ever produced, proposed that a certain 
yearly sum should be laid aside out of the revenue derived from 



320 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxxiv. 



the sale of the public lands, to be devoted to the emancipation of 
slaves by the purchase of their freedom. This process, however 
slow, at the same time that it would effect the gradual abolition 
of slavery, and at all events effectually prevent its increase and 
perpetuation, and offer a final, although distant termination to 
the evil, was at the same time less calculated to alarm the in- 
terested minds of the slave-owners ; since, as the emancipation 
would be gradual, and the compensation proportionable to the 
loss sustained, their interests were not so materially affected as 
they would be by the entire removal, at one swoop, of their 
vested rights of property and possession. As it is, however, there 
is no evidence of any positive action being taken by the legisla- 
ture to effect the removal of this disgraceful stain on the national 
character. So rabid and intolerant is the temper of the southern 
people when this question is mooted, and so fraught with danger 
to the union is the agitation even of the subject, that all discus- 
sion is shunned and avoided, and the evil hour protracted and 
put off, which will, as surely as that the sun shines in the 
heavens, one day plunge the country into a convulsion dreadful 
to think of or anticipate. Meanwhile the plague-spot remains : 
the foul cancer is eating its way ; and only by its extirpation can 
the body it disfigures regain its healthfulness and beauty, and 
take its place in the scale of humanity and civilization, from 
which the loathsome pestilence has outpaled it. 

As I have said, T notice the subject merely to add my humble 
voice to the cry for humanity's sake, which should never cease 
to stun the ears of the unholy men who, in spite of every law 
both human and divine, use their talents, and the intellect which 
God has given them, to uphold and perpetuate the curse of 
slavery. 



chap, xxxv.] MISERIES OF CIVILISED LIFE— ST. LOUIS. 32! 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

Saint Louis — The Mexican War. 

Proceeding on my arrival at St. Louis to an excellent hotel 
called the " Planter's House," I that night, for the first time for 
nearly ten months, slept upon a bed, much to the astonishment of 
my limbs and body, which, long accustomed to no softer mattress 
than mother earth, tossed about all night, unable to appreciate 
the unusual luxury. I found chairs a positive nuisance, and in 
my own room caught myself in the act more than once of squat- 
ting" cross-legged on the floor. The greatest treat to me was 
bread : I thought it the best part of the profuse dinners of the 
Planter's House, and consumed prodigious quantities of the staff 
of life, to the astonishment of the waiters. Forks too I thought 
were most useless superfluities, and more than once I found 
myself on the point of grabbing a tempting leg of mutton moun- 
tain fashion, and butchering off a hunter's mouthful. But what 
words can describe the agony of squeezing my feet into boots, 
after nearly a year of mocassins, or discarding my turban for a 
great boardy hat, which seemed to crush my temples? The 
miseries of getting into a horrible coat — of braces, waistcoats, 
gloves, and all such implements of torture — were too acute to be 
described, and therefore I draw a veil over them. 

Apart from the bustle attendant upon loading and unloading 
thousands and thousands of barrels of grain upon the wharf, St 
Louis appeared to me one of the dullest and most commonplace 
cities of the Union. A great proportion of the population con- 
sists of French and Germans ; the former congregating in a 
suburb called Yide Pochpf where they retain a few of the cha- 
racteristics of their lighthearted nation, and the sounds of the 
fiddle and tambourine may be nightly heard, making the old 
fashioned, tumble-down tenements shake with the tread of the 
merry dancers. The Dutch and Germans have their beer-gardens. 

Y 



322 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxxv. 

where they imbibe huge quantities of malt and honey-dew 
tobacco ; and the Irish their shebeen-shops, where monangahela is 
quaffed in lieu of the " rale crather." 

The town was full of returned volunteers from the wars. The 
twelvemonth's campaign they had been engaged in, and the bril- 
liant victories achieved by them, which, according to the American 
newspapers, are unparalleled in the annals of the world's history, 
have converted these rowdy and vermin-covered veterans into 
perfect heroes ; and every batch on arriving is feasted by the 
public, addresses are offered to them, the officers presented with 
swords and snuff-boxes, and honours of all kinds lavished upon 
them in every direction. 

The intense glorifications at St. Louis, and in every other part 
of the United States, on the recent successes of their troops over 
the miserable Mexicans, which were so absurd as to cause a broad 
grin on the face of an unexcited neutral, make me recur to the 
subject of this war, which hitherto I have avoided mentioning in 
the body of this little narrative. 

It is scarcely necessary to trace the causes of the war at pre- 
sent raging between the two republics of North America. The 
fable of the wolf and lamb drinking at the same stream may be 
quoted, to explain to the world the reason why the soi-disant 
champion of liberty has quarrelled with its sister state "for 
muddying the water " which the model republic uses to quench 
its thirst. 

A lesson has been read to the citizens of the United States 
which ought to open their eyes to the palpable dishonesty of their 
government, their unblushing selfishness, and total disregard to 
the interests of the country, when those of themselves or of their 
party are at stake ; and although in the present instance President 
Polk has overreached himself, and raised a storm which he would 
be only too glad to lay at any cost, yet, in the whole history 
of the Mexican war, the violence of party and political feeling is 
evident, from the 9th of May, 1846, when the first shot was tired 
at Palo Alto, to the date of the last half-score despatches which 
inform the world that General Scott " still remained at Puebla," 
waiting reinforcements. 

It is enough to observe that the immediate cause of hostilities 
was the unjustifiable invasion of Mexican territory by the army of 



chap, xxxv.] THE MEXICAN WAR. 323 

the United States to take possesion of a tract of country of which 
the boundary-line had been disputed between the Mexican go- 
vernment and one of its revolted states, and which had been 
annexed to the American Union before its recognition as an 
independent state by the country from which it had seceded. 

There can be no question but that the United States had deep 
cause of complaint against Mexico, in the total disregard evinced 
by the latter to the spirit of international treaties, and the in- 
juries inflicted upon the persons and property of American citi- 
zens ; all redress of which grievances was either totally refused, 
or procrastinated until the parties gave up every hope of ultimate 
compensation. The acquisition of Texas, however, was in any 
case a balancing injustice, and should have wiped out all old 
grievances, at least those of a pecuniary nature ; while, if a proper 
spirit of conciliation had been evinced on the part of the Ameri- 
cans, at the period when the question of annexation was being 
mooted, all danger of a rupture would have been removed ; and 
Mexico would have yielded her claims to Texas with a better 
grace, if taken as a receipt in full for all obligations, than in 
suffering a large portion of her territory to be torn from her, 
against all laws held sacred by civilized nations. 

It is certain that such consequences, as have resulted from the 
advance of the American troops from the Nueces to the Rio 
Grande, were never anticipated by the President of the United 
States, whose policy in bringing on a quasi crisis of the state 
affairs on the Mexican frontier, and provoking the Mexicans to 
overt acts which could at any moment be converted into a casus 
belli, was not for the sake of territorial aggrandizement, but for a 
purpose which, it is known to those in the secret of his policy, 
had an object more remote, and infinitely more important, than a 
rupture with the Mexican government. 

At that time the position taken up by Mr. Polk and his party 
with regard to the Oregon question involved, as a natural con- 
sequence, the probability of a war with England ; nay, more, il 
such position were persisted in, the certainty of a war with that 
power. That a majority of the people, and all the right-thinking 
and influential classes, were opposed to such measures as would 
hazard or produce such a rupture, was so palpable, that the 
government was conscious that any proposal for making pre- 

y2 



324 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxxv. 

parations for a war with England, which they knew a per- 
severance in their policy would assuredly bring about, would not 
be favourably received, or even tolerated, and therefore they 
looked about them for a means of attaining their object, by blind- 
ing the eyes of the people as to their ulterior designs. Mexico 
was made the scapegoat. A war with that weak and powerless 
state would be popular, since its duration, it was supposed, could 
be but for a very brief period, the government having no resources 
whatever, and being sadly deficient in any of the sinews of war ; 
and, moreover, such a war would be likely to flatter the national 
pride and conceit of the American people. 

To bring, therefore, affairs to such a critical position on the 
Texan frontier, that a " state of war " could at any moment be 
assumed, and its imminence be actually very apparent, was the 
stroke of policy by which Polk and his party hoped to blind the 
people, and, profiting by it, make such preparations as would 
enable them to carry out their plans in connection with the 
Oregon question and the probable war with England. They 
thought that, even if hostilities broke out with Mexico, that power 
would at once succumb ; and, in the mean time, that the war- fever 
in the United States would spread, and that the people would 
sanction an increase in the army and navy in such a case, which 
could at any time be made available for another purpose. 

The first shot fired on the Kio Grande changed their views. 
Until then the Americans were in utter ignorance of the state 
of Mexico and the Mexicans. They never anticipated such re- 
sistance as they have met with ; but, judging from the moral and 
physical inferiority of the people, at once concluded that all they 
had to do was venire, videre, et vincere. Children in the art of 
war, they imagined that personal bravery and physical strength 
were the only requisites for a military people ; and that, possessing 
these qualities in as great a degree as the Mexicans were deficient 
in them, the operations in Mexico would amount to nothing more 
arduous than a promenade through the table-lands of Anahuac — 
the " Halls of Montezuma," in which it was the popular belief 
that they were destined " to revel," being the goal of their mili- 
tary paseo of six weeks. 

As soon, however, as the list of killed and wounded on the 
fields of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma reached Washington, 



chap, xxxv.] THE MEXICAN WAR. 325 

President Polk saw at once the error into which he had fallen. 
It became evident to him that all the resources of the country 
would be required to carry on the war with one of the most 
feeble powers in the world, and that the sooner he pulled his 
foot out of the hot water, which at the temperature of 54° 40' 
was likely to scald him, the better for him and his country ; for 
it naturally occurred to him that, if such a scrimmage as the 
Mexican war gave him considerable trouble, an affair with such 
a respectable enemy as England was likely to prove anything but 
an agreeable pastime : and hence the very speedy acceptance of 
Lord Aberdeen's ultimatum, and the sudden settlement of the 
Oregon question. 

As affairs now stand, and unless the United States very mate- 
rially modify the conditions under which they signify their 
willingness to withdraw from the Mexican territory, and not- 
withstanding the avowedly pacific proposals of Commissioner 
Trist, it is difficult to assign any probable period for the 
termination of the war ; and it is certain that, as the Mexican 
armies, one after the other, dissolve before the American attacks, 
and the farther the latter penetrate into the country, the greater 
are the difficulties which they will have to surmount. Harassed 
by hordes of guerrillas, with a long line of country in their rear 
admirably adapted by nature for the system of warfare pursued 
by irregular troops, and through which all supplies have to pass, 
to defeat an army is but to increase the conquerors' difficulties, 
since, while before they had one tangible enemy in their front, now 
they are surrounded by swarms of hornets, who never run the risk 
of defeat by standing the brunt of a regular engagement. 

Neither have the invariable and signal defeats the Mexicans 
have met with the same moral effect which such reverses have 
amongst more civilised nations. They take them as matters of 
course, and are not dispirited; while, on the other hand, the 
slightest success instils new life and energy into their hearts. 
Until the whole country is occupied by American troops, the 
war, unless immediately concluded, will be carried on, and will 
eventually become one of conquest. But, in the mean time, the 
expenses it entails upon the treasury of the United States are 
enormous, and hourly increasing ; and it would seem that the 
amount of compensation for the expenses of the war, which, in 



326 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap. xxxv. 

money or territory, is a sine qua non in the peace proposals of 
the American commissioner, is consequently increasing pari passu, 
and therefore the settlement of the question becomes more difficult 
and uncertain. ' 

It is extremely doubtful if the Mexican people will consent to 
a surrender of nearly one-third of their territory, which will most 
probably be required as compensation for the expenses of the war, 
or, what is the same thing, be demanded as a security for the 
payment of a certain sum of money ; and whether they will not 
rather prefer war to the knife to the alternative of losing their 
nationality. In reality, this war does them little harm. They 
were in such a state of misery and anarchy before it commenced, 
and have been for so long a period tyrannises over by the 
republican despots who have respectively held the reins of power, 
that no change could possibly make their condition more de- 
graded ; and the state of confusion and misrule attendant upon 
the war in such a country as Mexico is so congenial to the people, 
that, from my own observations, I believe them to be adverse, 
even on this account alone, to the termination of hostilities. 
Moreover, the feeling against the Americans, which was at first 
mere apathy, has increased to the bitterest hatred and animosity, 
and is sufficient in itself to secure the popular support to the 
energetic prosecution of the war : and the consciousness of the 
justice of their cause, and the injustice of the unprovoked ag- 
gression on the part of the United States, ought, and I have no 
doubt will, keep alive one spark of that honour, wlrch prompts a 
people to resent and oppose a wilful and wanton attack on their 
liberties and nationality. 



chap, xxxvi.] ILLINOIS RIVER— A STAGE-COACH. 327 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

The Illinois River — Chicago — A Stage- Coach — Dovetailing — A Yankee 
Orator — Anglophobia — New York — The End. 

After a stay of a few days in St. Louis, in order to rig myself 
out in civilized attire, I went on board a steamboat bound for 
the Illinois River and Peoria, intending to cross the prairies of 
Illinois to Chicago, and thence down the Canadian lakes to New 
York. 

This river is more picturesque than the Missouri or Missis- 
sippi ; the banks higher, the water clearer, and the channel dotted 
with pretty islands, between which the steamboat passes, almost 
brushing the timber on the banks. At Peoria we were trans- 
ferred to stage-coaches, and, suffering a martyrdom of shaking 
and bad living on the road — if road it can be called — we arrived 
at last at Chicago — the city, that is to be, of the Lakes, and 
which may be termed the City of Magnificent Intentions. 

Chigago, or Chicago, is situated at the south-western corner 
of Lake Michigan, and on the lake-shore. In spite of the 
pasteboard appearance of its houses, churches, and public edifices, 
all of wood, it is a remarkably pretty town, its streets wide and 
well laid out ; and it will, doubtless, after it has been burned down 
once or twice, and rebuilt of stone or brick, be one of the finest 
of the western cities. It has several excellent hotels, some of 
which are of gigantic dimensions, a theatre, court-house, and an 
artificial harbour, constructed at the expense of the city. 

An American stage-coach has often been described : it is a 
huge lumbering affair with leathern springs, and it creaks and 
groans over the corduroy roads and unmacadamized causeways, 
thumping, bumping, and dislocating the limbs of its " insides," 
whose smothered shrieks and exclamations of despair often cause 
the woodsman to pause from his work, and, leaning upon his axe, 
listen with astonishment to the din which proceeds from its con- 
vulsed interior. 



325 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, Sec. [chap, xxxvi. 



The coach contains three seats, each of which accommodates 
three passengers ; those on the centre, and the three with their 
backs to the horses, face each other, and, from the confined 
space, the arrangement and mutual convenience of leg-placing 
not unfrequently leads to fierce outbreaks of ire. A fat old lady- 
got into the coach at Peoria, whose uncompromising rotundity 
and snappishness of temper, combined with a most unaccommo- 
dating pair of " limbs " (legs, on this side the Atlantic), rendered 
her the most undesirable vis-a-vis that a traveller could possibly 
be inflicted with. The victim happened to be an exceedingly 
mild Hosier, whose modest bashfulness prevented his remon- 
strating against the injustice of the proceeding ; but, after 
unmitigated sufferings for fifty miles, borne with Christian 
resignation, he disappeared from the scene of his martyrdom, 
and his place was occupied by a hard-featured New-Yorker, the 
captain of one of the Lake steamboats, whose sternness of feature 
and apparent determination of purpose assured us that he had 
been warned of the purgatory in store for him, and was resolved 
to grapple gallantly with the difficulty. As he took his seat, and 
bent his head to the right and left over his knees, looking, as it 
were, for some place to bestow his legs, an ominous silence pre- 
vailed in the rocking coach, and we all anxiously awaited the 
result of the attack which this bold man was evidently meditating ; 
the speculations being as to whether the assault would be made 
in the shape of a mild rebuke, or a softly-spoken remonstrance 
and request for a change of posture. 

Our skipper evidently imagined that his pantomimic indica- 
tions of discomfort would have had a slight effect, but when the 
contrary was the result, and the uncompromising knees wedged 
him into the corner, his face turned purple with emotion, and, 
bending towards his tormentor, he solemnly exclaimed — "I 
guess, marm, it's got to be done anyhow sooner or later, so you 
and I, marm, must jist ' dovetail.' ' 

The lady bounded from her seat, aghast at the mysterious 
proposal. 

"Must what, sir-r?" 

" Dovetail, marm ; you and I have got to dovetail, and no two 
ways about it." 

" Dovetail me, you inhuman savage !" she roared out, shaking 



chap, xxxvi.] DOVETAILING— MICHIGAN. 329 

her fist in the face of the skipper, who shrank, alarmed, into his 
corner ; " dovetail a lone woman in a Christian country ! if thar's 
law on airth, sir-r, and in the state of Illinoy, I'll have you 
hanged ! 

" Driver, stop the coach," she shrieked from the window ; " I 
go no farther with this man. I believe I ar' a free 'ooman, and 
my name is Peck. Young man," she pathetically exclaimed to 
the driver, who sought to explain matters, whilst we, inside, 
were literally convulsed with laughter, " my husband shall larn 
of this, as shiure as shiooting. Open the door, I say, and let me 
out !" And, spite of all our expostulations, she actually left the 
coach and sought shelter in a house at the road-side ; and we heard 
her, as we drove off, muttering " Dovetail me, will they ? the 
Injine savages ! if ther's law in Illinoy, I'll have him hanged I" 

It is unnecessary to say that " dovetailing " is the process of 
mutually accommodating each other's legs followed by stage- 
coach and omnibus passengers ; but the term — certainly the first 
time I had ever heard it used in that sense — shocked and alarmed 
the modesty of the worthy Mrs. Peck of Illwoy. 

A canal is in course of construction in the State of Illinois, to 
connect the waters of the lakes with the Mississippi — a gigantic 
undertaking, but one which will be of the greatest benefit to the 
western country. When this canal is completed, the waters of 
Lake Superior will, therefore, communicate with the Gulf of 
Mexico by way of the Mississippi, as they do already with the 
North Atlantic by means of the Welland and Rideau canals, 
which pass through Canada ; and, even already, vessels have 
been spoken in mid-ocean, built on Lakes Michigan and Huron, 
cleared from Chigago., and bound for England, passing an inland 
navigation of upwards of three thousand miles. 

, Leaving Chigago, I crossed the lake to Kalamazoo, whence I 
" railed " across the Michigan peninsula to Detroit, the chief 
city of the State of Michigan. This railroad was a very primi- 
tive affair, with but one line of rails, which, in very many places, 
were entirely divested of the iron, and in these spots the passen- 
gers were requested to " assist " the locomotive over the " bad 
places." However, after killing several hogs and cows, we 
arrived safe enough at Detroit. 

I remarked that, since a former visit to the United States, three 



330 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxxvi. 

or four years ago, there had been a very palpable increase in the 
feeling of jealousy and dislike to England and everything British 
which has very generally characterized the free and enlightened 
citizens from the affair of Lexington to the present time. I must, 
however, do them the justice to declare, that in no one instance 
have I ever perceived that feeling evinced towards an individual ; 
but it exists most assuredly as a national feeling, and is exhibited 
in the bitterest and most uncompromising spirit in all their jour- 
nals, and the sayings and doings of their public men. Thus, in 
travelling through the United States, an Englishman is perpe- 
tually hearing his country and its institutions abused. Every- 
thing he admires is at once seized upon, to be tortured into a 
comparison with the same thing in England. But what is more 
amusing is, that it is a very general belief that, from the Queen 
down to the gruel-stirrer in Marylebone workhouse, everybody's 
time is occupied with the affairs of the United States, and all 
their pleasures turned to gall and wormwood by the bitter envy 
they feel at her well-being and prosperity. 

In passing down the lakes, I took a passage from Detroit to 
Buffalo in a Canadian steamer, which, by-the-by, was the most 
tastefully decorated and best- managed boat on the lake. As we 
passed through the Detroit River, which connects Lakes Erie 
and St. Clair, we had a fine view of the Canadian as well as the 
American shore ; and the contrast between the flourishing settle- 
ments and busy cities of the latter, and the quaint, old-fashioned 
villages of the French Canadians, was certainly sufficiently striking. 
As the boat passed Maiden, celebrated as being the scene of stir- 
ring events in the Indian wars, and the more recent one of 1812, 
I ascended, spite of the burning sun, to the upper deck, in order 
to obtain a view of the shore, which at this point, where the river 
enters the lake, is very picturesque and beautiful. I found a 
solitary passenger seated on the roof, which was red-hot with the 
burning rays of the sun, squirting his tobacco-juice fast and 
furiously, and with his eyes bent on the shore, and a facetious 
and self-satisfied grin on his lank, sallow countenance. His 
broad-brimmed brown beaver hat, with dishevelled nap, suit of 
glossy black, including a shining black satin waistcoat, of course 
proclaimed him to be a citizen. Waving his hand towards the 
Canada shore, he asked me in a severe tone, — 



chap, xxxvi.] A YANKEE ORATOR. 331 

" What do you call this, sir? Is this the land of the Queen 
of England, sir ?" 

" Well, I guess it ain't nothing else," answered, for me, the 
pilot of the boat. " But," he continued, "it ain't a going to be 
so much longer." 

" Longer, sir !" quoth my severe interrogator; " too long by 
half has that unfortunate country been oppressed by British 
tyrants. Look thar, sir," waving his arm towards the opposite 
shore ; " thar's a sight, sir, where a man can look up to G — 
A'mighty's heavens, and bless him for having made him a citizen 
of the United States!" 

" A fine country," I observed ; " there's no doubt of it." 

" A fine country, sir ! the first country in the world, sir ; and 
feeds the starving English with what it can't consume itself, sir. 
The philanthropy of our country" (he took me for a citizen) " flies 
on the wings of the wind, sir, and bears to the hungry slaves of 
the Queen of England corn, sir, and bread-doins of every descrip- 
tion. Yes, sir ! and to show them, sir, that we can feed 'em with 
one hand and whip 'em with the other, we send it over in a ship 
of war, which once carried their flag, until it was lowered to the 
flag of freedom. I allude, sir" (turning to me), " to the frigate 
* Macedonian,' and the stars and stripes of our national banner." 

This speech, delivered in the most pompous manner, and with 
exuberant gesture, was too much for my gravity, and I exploded 
in an immoderate fit , of laughter. 

" Laugh, sir," he resumed, " pray laugh. I perceive you are 
not a native, and your countrymen had ort to laugh without loss 
of time ; for soon, sir, will their smile of triumph be turned to 
a howl of despair, when Liberty treads to the earth your aristo- 
cracy — your titled lords, and the star-spangled banner waves over 
Windsor Palace." Saying which, and squirting over the deck a 
shower of tobacco-spray, he turned magnificently away. 

" A smart man that, stranger," said the pilot to me, giving the 
wheel a spoke to port — " one of the smartest men in these parts." 
This I easily believed. 

We had the misfortune to damage a part of the machinery just 
after entering Lake Erie, and were compelled to wait until 
another steamboat made her appearance, and towed us back to 
Detroit, where it took twenty-four hours to repair damages. 



332 ADVENTURES IN MEXICO, &c. [chap, xxxvi. 

From Buffalo I travelled by railroad to Albany, on the Hudson, 
and, descending that magnificent river, reached New York early 
in July, in eight travelling days from St. Louis, a distance of — 
I am afraid to say how many thousand miles. 

From New York the good ship u New World " carried myself 
and a dozen fellow-passengers, spite of contrary winds, in thirty 
days to Liverpool, where I arrived, sin novedad % some time in 
the middle of August, 1847. 



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